


Shifting Allegiances

by Lurkz



Series: Shifting Allegiances [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mob, F/F, Minor Kara Danvers/Lucy Lane, there's fluff too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-18 14:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12389529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lurkz/pseuds/Lurkz
Summary: Everyone knows that National City is run by the gangs. Everyone also knows the balance of power between them has been stable and quiet for a while now. Alex's DEO and Maggie's Sawyer Gang normally keep to themselves, relatively content with their territories within the contested city. As the balance of power suddenly begins to shift, Alex and Maggie realize that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" has just become more true than they originally thought. They weren't really counting on falling for each other in the process.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A huge, huge thanks to @sralinchen for giving me the idea, helping with the plot, and just generally being an awesome sounding board. And also to @iamdeltas for helping me work through this and listening to all my random rambles and questions.
> 
> And definitely all the thanks and kudos to @mcgaynnon who not only did the [awesome art](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/SanversBigBang/works/12391815) for this but also drew an extra title poster, included in this chapter. I still can't get over it.

 

 

Maggie glanced up as Winn poked his head into her office. Half smiling, she waved him inside. “What’s up?”

Winn practically bounded over to her desk and dropped a tablet on top of her paperwork. Maggie frowned down at it, trying to figure out what she was supposed to be looking at.

“Ok, I give. What’s going on, little brother?”

Winn rolled his eyes. “Why do you have to call me that?”

“Uh, because it’s true?” She grinned up at him. Ever since her aunt had adopted him when his father, notorious gangster “The Toyman,” actually got put away she had taken great pleasure in having a little brother to tease.

He rolled his eyes but couldn’t completely conceal the smile at the assertion. Huffing, he didn’t respond to the statement but instead pointed down at the tablet. “Just intercepted a report that someone hijacked one of the DEO shipments.”

Maggie blinked in surprise and frowned down at the tablet. That was definitely news. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had dared to interfere with DEO business; even Cadmus tended to leave them be. Though not as large as Cadmus, nor as stocked up with pure muscle like her own group, the DEO had more than enough technology to make up the difference. Experts in alien technology, biologicals, and weaponry, they were a formidable foe even in small numbers. That someone had dared to knock over one of their shipments, and succeeded, was huge.

“Do we know who?”

“That’s the bad part.”

“Worse than someone having the firepower to take out a DEO team?”

He nodded, expression grim. “It looks like it was a combination of Lane _and_ Lord forces.”

Maggie’s eyebrows shot up in shock. “ _What?_ ”

Tapping the tablet, he pulled up grainy surveillance footage. Maggie’s forehead creased as she watched it play. After a few minutes, Winn paused the video, zooming in on two of the men visible as they attacked the van. One had Lord’s insignia on his jacket, the other, Lane’s.

“Shit.”

Winn nodded again. “I’ve started picking up other rumors that they’re teaming up.”

“To what purpose?”

“To take out the DEO. And us.”

Maggie shook her head slightly. “At best they would have a 50/50 chance of taking out either us or the DEO, even united.”

“Those odds go up if they then join up with Cadmus.”

Maggie scoffed. “Cadmus would never join up with Lane and Lord.”

“Even to take over National City?”

Maggie stopped herself from scoffing again. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, eyes dropping absently to the still paused video. It was true, even united the likelihood they could take out her or the DEO was at best even odds. And taking out both would be virtually impossible. But with Cadmus backing? And at least some DEO tech (though Maggie was certain they wouldn’t be able to get their hands on much more, if any. There was no way the DEO was going to let this go without greatly increasing security)? Yeah… that could be dangerous.

“Shit,” she said again. Sighing, she glanced up at Winn. “Do you have proof?”

He nodded then shook his head, scowling. “Mostly just rumors. A couple of intercepted messages that refer to a third party.”

Maggie frowned. “That’s not really conclusive,” she pointed out.

Winn grimaced. “I know. But the rumors are growing.”

“Get James in here. We need to talk and decide how to handle this.”

Winn nodded and headed for the door. As soon as he’d left, Maggie dropped her head into her hands. This was not what she needed. Everything had been in a tentative peace for months now. She should have known it was just the calm before the storm.

Raising her head, Maggie tugged over the tablet Winn had left, rewinding and watching the footage from the beginning. She had to admit, the plan seemed pretty good. Somehow they appeared to know the exact route the DEO shipment would take, an impressive feat in and of itself. Even Winn had a hard time finding that sort of data. The DEO was well-known for switching up routes every time and never storing the information in a location that could be hacked, or at least not hacked easily. Maggie wondered just how Lord and Lane had gotten ahold of the information, much less had the ability to counter the armament of the DEO transporters.

She frowned thoughtfully at the footage. The combined forces of Lord and Lane appeared to take the DEO men by surprise, overwhelming them with sheer numbers before they could really fight back. Certainly several men were felled by the impressive weapons the DEO troops wielded but not enough to prevent the takeover. “Well, that’s one way to do it I guess. Talk about inefficient though,” she muttered to herself, watching the footage again. It was definitely not a strategy that they could hope to maintain long-term. But Maggie suspected that wasn’t the plan, not once they got their hands on enough DEO tech; _if_ they got their hands on enough DEO tech. Something she sincerely hoped would not happen.

Maggie looked up from the tablet as the office door opened again and Winn reentered followed by James. She shot them both a tight smile as they came up to the other side of the desk. James cocked his head slightly, returning the smile with a curious one of his own. “What’s going on, Maggie? All Winn would say was that it was urgent.”

Maggie sighed and waved a hand at the tablet. “Lord and Lane have teamed up, apparently with the purpose of taking out us and the DEO.”

James raised an eyebrow as he watched the video. “Even together they have even odds at best of taking out either of us and less than that of taking out both.” He paused as the video showed the flunkies from the previous night taking the DEO tech from the truck. “Even with a shipment of DEO tech. We both know the DEO has far more at its disposal.”

Maggie nodded. “I agree. But there’s a bigger problem.”

James looked at her in concern. “Bigger how?”

“Winn’s found evidence they’re trying to team up with Cadmus.”

James let out a slow breath. “That… changes things. Cadmus never teams up with anyone. Not since the DEO broke away years ago. What makes this different?”

Maggie looked at Winn, one eyebrow raising questioningly.

Winn nodded slightly before answering. “Because this time the rumors indicate Cadmus is actually listening if not already on board.”

“But why now?”

Maggie answered this time. “Because Lillian needs funding. Ever since her stepdaughter took over LuthorCorp the word is she cut Lillian off and is going through and systematically eliminating the embezzling pipelines Lillian used. Obviously, Cadmus itself can likely fund itself well enough but to continue long-term she’s probably going to want more. And that means expansion, particularly in the areas the DEO is known for. But even Cadmus couldn’t take the DEO out. Not without far too many casualties that would make continuing afterward very difficult if not impossible.”

James frowned. “But it’s just rumors?”

Maggie nodded. “Apparently. Which is why Winn is going to dig and see if he can find something solid.”

“And if he does?”

Maggie sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Then we need to seriously consider allying with the DEO.”

“ _What?_ ” James and Winn exclaimed simultaneously. A steady stream of protests ensued from both men.

Maggie raised an eyebrow pointedly, waiting for them to subside. When they were silent, though still giving her incredulous looks, she continued, “You said it yourself, James, if Cadmus allies with Lord and Lane, the odds of the united group being able to take us _and_ the DEO out goes up greatly. Even odds I’m willing to risk. Drastically increased odds I am not. I am not proposing we go to Danvers today and suggest an alliance, or even more casual cooperation, but if Winn does turn up solid proof, this is a course of action we need to seriously consider.” She pinned them both with a stern look. “So get finding it, Winn. And James, start researching the DEO’s strengths and weaknesses so we can have something resembling a plan if we end up having to propose a meeting.”

She waited for them both to nod and exit the office before settling back into her chair, letting out a long breath. She had a bad feeling this could get ugly, especially if Danvers and the DEO didn’t want to play nice. Tugging her laptop over, she pulled up her personal records on the DEO. There wasn’t much. The public records for El Mayarah, Alex Danvers’ personal biotech and pharmaceuticals company. A very well respected biotech and pharmaceuticals company at that. A slew of patents were registered to its scientists, including several listing Danvers herself as an inventor, and it was on the list of major donors for every major charitable organization in the city as well as the university. The company profile listed its founder and CEO as “Dr. Alex Danvers” and indicated she was a bioengineer. Otherwise, public records were, understandably, fairly quiet on Alex Danvers and, of course, nothing substantive pointed toward her position as the head of one of National City’s biggest, and most dangerous, gangs, the DEO.

Even the information Maggie had regarding Danvers at the DEO was spotty. Confirmation of her PhD from Stanford, some notes that until recently a J’onn J’onzz had been in charge, apparently holding the fort until Danvers herself, the heir apparent to Jeremiah Danvers, had taken the reins. The original founders of the DEO were apparently all dead. Killed in a separate pair of accidents with no apparent origin or reason that anyone could prove. And Alex Danvers, as far as Maggie was aware, was the only one left running the gang. Her older siblings, adopted by the Danvers after their own parents had died, had vanished from the business years before, allowing J’onzz to take over in the interim. Maggie had to admit, she was surprised he had, to all appearances, given up control of the DEO to the youngest Danvers without a fuss. Speculation indicated that he was still intimately involved with operations but no one knew for sure. The DEO was a secretive bunch. But then, so was Maggie.

Part of her thrilled at the idea of potentially working with the DEO. She had never met Alex Danvers, only seen her picture on El Mayarah’s website and caught the occasional glimpse at events both were invited to as donors. She wanted to know more.

* * *

 

Alex frowned as she checked her messages. Several were flagged urgent and she immediately clicked on the earliest one, timestamped at 3 am, as she sipped her coffee. And immediately almost spit out her coffee at the contents of the message. Growling, she set the mug down and grabbed her phone.

“Vasquez. Meeting in my home office, ASAP.”

Picking the coffee back up, Alex skimmed the rest of her messages quickly. The rest of the urgent ones were almost all about the same topic, the attack on the shipment. The few others regarded upcoming shipments. Swiftly, she composed a response placing a temporary hold on shipments coming into National City pending further action. There, fortunately, wasn’t anything due for a couple days which would give her time to strategize and beef up security. And figure out what the hell had happened.

She was settled behind her desk and scowling down at the reports from the two people that had survived the attack when Vasquez strode into her office. Alex didn’t bother to glance up when she started talking. “How did they know the route?”

Vasquez dropped into the chair in front of the desk and flicked briefly at the tablet in her hands before waving a hand at Alex’s computer monitors. “Torture. They took Charlie earlier in the day and looks like they beat it out of him. His body was just recovered from the river this morning.”

Alex looked over at the monitor, watching the images of Charlie’s body pop up on the screen as Vasquez moved her fingers. Her frown deepened as she settled back into her office chair, the familiar leather warming swiftly to her body. Picking up her coffee cup, she sipped at the second serving of coffee absently as she waited for Vasquez to continue, eyes never leaving the monitor.

“The upside is, Charlie only knew last night’s route and not any future ones,” Vasquez continued. Another flick of her hand and a video appeared and started playing. “This is the fight from last night. Mainly they relied on overwhelming numbers.”

“Inefficient long term,” Alex murmured absently.

“Exactly. We think the long-term plan, or, well, hope, is that they can use our weapons to eventually even the score and not have to use so many men to take out a shipment.” Alex scoffed at that and caught a brief glimpse of a grin on Vasquez’s face. “Precisely, ma’am. Fortunately, this delivery was relatively small and they don’t appear to have caught wind of the other trucks. Only approximately 10% of the total shipment was taken.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully, fingers tapping idly on the side of her coffee mug as she pondered the issue. Mentally she flipped through the details of what had been on that particular truck. All short range weapons. Nothing with a blast radius. All told, probably the best one they could have taken, relatively speaking. Her frown deepened as she caught a glimpse of something on the screen and leaned forward. “Pause. Is that what I think it is?”

“If you’re thinking that’s people with two different gang emblems you’d be right. About half the group was Lord’s men. The other half, Lane’s.”

“Shit.” She scowled at the monitor for a moment before turning to look directly at Vasquez for the first time that morning. “Do we know which group took out Charlie?”

Vasquez grimaced and shook her head. “Not yet. J’onn is out looking.”

Alex nodded. J’onn was their best bet when it came to situations like this. His mind reading ability made it far easier for him to find out who knew something and get the information from them, even when the person didn’t realize they were sharing it. “What about information on this apparent alliance? Is it temporary? Permanent? The prelude to something else?”

“We don’t know for sure. As of right now, we don’t even know how high up it goes. There’s nothing out there we’ve heard that indicates Lord and Lane are actually communicating. It might be lieutenants trying to gain power for a takeover.”

“Mm.” Alex pursed her lips. That was true. And it wouldn’t be the first time members from one of the National City gangs tried to recruit others from outside to help them take out leadership. It wouldn’t even be the first time they succeeded at such a team up though, thus far, actual takeovers had been averted. “What do you think?”

Vasquez was quiet for a few moments, gaze distant and thoughtful. “I think… it might be the prelude to another gang war.”

Alex nodded. “So the real question is… where will it start? And how will the sides be drawn.”

“Mm. There have been murmurings that people in both Lord and Lane’s groups have been getting restless. They aren’t happy with the territory restrictions nor with the slow growth of business.”

Alex smiled wolfishly. “Such a shame.” Vasquez smiled briefly in return. Sobering, Alex leaned back in her chair once more. “And Cadmus? Any info on how Lillian’s handling her ouster?”

Vasquez glanced down at her tablet and flipped through a few screens. “Nothing concrete. What information we’ve been able to get indicates she, and Cadmus, is currently hunkering down and doing a reevaluation of core business models.”

Alex tapped her coffee mug thoughtfully for a moment. “Keep an ear to the ground and see what you can dig up in their systems. They’re probably smart enough to keep it off the main servers but Lord and Lane hire some stupid people sometimes. Let me know the minute anyone learns anything further about any of this. And do some digging into Sawyer and see if you can find out what she’s up to next. If this blows up, the more knowledge the better.”

Vasquez nodded and typed for a moment on her tablet. Alex knew she was sending messages to her subordinates in coded messages that were then heavily encrypted. It paid to be as cautious as possible. “Will you be at El Mayarah today, ma’am, or the home lab?”

Alex considered the question. “Home lab. I want to take a look at the shipment, there was supposed to be some new stuff in it.”

“Got it. Donovan is assigned to you today. I’ll point J’onn your direction as soon as he returns.” Alex nodded along as Vasquez continued with the standard morning security brief. Half of her mind was already contemplating what tests to run on the new batch of weapons and, based on the alleged specs, how they could be best improved and combined with others.

* * *

 

Alex stepped into the restaurant warily, gaze scanning the interior carefully before continuing forward. Kara had entered ahead of her, putting her bulletproof body between Alex and any ambushers. Her two other bodyguards flanked Kara, providing a protective V ahead of Alex’s entrance. Behind her sunglasses, Alex rolled her eyes but she’d long since found out that it was easier to just let her overprotective big sister do her thing. It wasn’t like Alex could stop her anyway.

After a moment, Kara stepped to the side to allow Alex to move forward. Casually, she did so, absently patting her sister’s arm in thanks. The restaurant was empty, as expected. Between herself and Sawyer it had been easy enough to buy the place out for a lunch meeting. The blinds had been drawn as requested, though the interior was still well lit. J’onn stepped up beside her, shifted into his usual human form. She exchanged a brief glance with him before murmuring to Kara, “What do you think?”

Kara nodded toward the back of the restaurant. “Five people in the private dining room. One woman and four men. Kitchen is occupied. And… yes, looks like someone’s about to come meet us.” Her voice was low, barely audible but supremely confident.

Alex nodded, comfortable relying on her sister’s powers. There were perks to having an alien for an older sister after all. Almost as soon as Kara stopped speaking, a man in a tailored suit appeared and hurried toward them. “Ms. Danvers?”

“Yes.”

He smiled warmly—surprisingly genuinely as far as Alex could tell—gesturing for them to follow him. “This way please. The rest of your party arrived just before you did.”

Alex inclined her head slightly and glanced briefly at Kara who proceeded to lead the way. The maître d’ blinked briefly but didn’t comment, instead turning to lead Alex’s small party toward the private dining room. They could have met in the restaurant interior proper given it was empty but both Alex and Sawyer agreed that the extra privacy was a wise precaution. After all, it wasn’t exactly common that two people in their positions met privately. If Lord, Lane, or Luthor caught wind of the meeting, the extra buffer space would prove very beneficial. Of course, Alex had troops stationed outside, armed with the very best of the DEO’s weaponry and she was certain Sawyer did as well but it never hurt to be cautious.

Alex left her sunglasses firmly in place as she followed Kara. This particular pair wasn’t overly darkly tinted and the mirrored surface provided a nice shield between herself and people she was meeting, preventing others from seeing her eyes and reading inadvertent clues in them. And she fully expected that someone like Maggie Sawyer, head of the Sawyer Gang for over seven years, was well versed in reading people’s expressions and body languages. Even with Alex’s experience in lying and hiding her emotions, the more caution the better.

Kara automatically paused briefly at the door, looking back at Alex, one eyebrow raised in question. Deliberately, Alex stopped, straightening the cuffs of her suit jacket and casually adjusting the skinny tie she’d donned for the meeting. Kara rolled her eyes slightly and Alex smirked at her big sister.

“Are you done primping, your majesty?” Kara asked, barely audible.

Alex’s smirk broadened. “I learned from the best, big sis. And yes.” Alex shot a sidelong glance at J’onn who also nodded slightly.

Kara nodded briefly and turned back to the door, straightening subtly and pulling her shoulders back just a touch. The overall effect made her look even more intimidating, suit tailored to subtly emphasize her muscular physique, much like Alex’s was. The maître d’ was watching them from where he had paused with his hand on the doorknob. Alex caught a flicker of wariness in his eyes before it vanished in a flash of recognition. Her lips curled into a dangerous smile and she nodded at him. “We’re ready.”

He swallowed and nodded, pushing open the door. Alex suspected his suspicions about what this meeting really was had just been confirmed. In her own territory, it was rare to find a shop or restaurant owner unfamiliar with the head of the DEO. Out here in the neutral territory surrounding CatCo, it was a bit more common. There were rumors, certainly. But people didn’t “know.” She’d seen that dawning revelation more than once and she would be shocked if he did not immediately inform his employers. Not that it mattered; they still could prove nothing, even were they brave enough to go to the cops.

Kara strode through the door first, quiet and intimidating in all black, disrupted only by the splash of red that was her shirt just visible under the buttoned suit jacket. Alex followed close behind, J’onn to her right. The two bodyguards followed last, immediately sweeping to the sides to take up positions on either side of Alex and J’onn, leaving space for Kara to stand next to Alex. After what Alex knew would be a visual and x-ray sweep of the room, Kara dropped back to stand on her left, hands clasped loosely behind her back.

A beautiful solid wood table was the dominant feature of the well-appointed dining room. Alex studied the room casually, deliberately letting her gaze wander around the room before finally turning her head to look at the woman seated at the other end of the table. She allowed her lips to quirk into the slightest smirk as she studied her counterpart. Dressed similarly to Alex in a black, tailored suit, Maggie Sawyer cut an impressive figure, beautiful and unintimidated by Alex’s presence. Alex noted the darker features, clear indicator of her Italian heritage. Where Alex had opted for black on black, accented with a red tie that perfectly matched Kara and J’onn’s shirts, Sawyer had gone for the more classic black on white without a tie, collared shirt open at her neck and Alex just able to catch a glimpse of a necklace in the hollow of the other woman’s throat. Like Alex, Sawyer’s sunglasses were perched firmly on her face as she returned the smirk and Alex could just make out her own reflection in the mirrored lenses.

Allowing the smirk to settle into a sardonic grin, Alex ambled toward the table. “What, they don’t teach you to stand to greet guests in Chicago?”

Sawyer arched an eyebrow, just visible over the top of the lenses and waited a beat longer before standing slowly. “My mistake.” Her reply was drawled, clearly insincere apology dripping from each word. She didn’t bother offering a hand to Alex, simply gesturing for the chair opposite her own. “Shall we?”

Alex inclined her head slightly before taking her seat, aware of J’onn and Kara’s presence as they took up posts on either side of her silently. She knew the bodyguards would have dropped back and to each side, watching and waiting much like Sawyer’s own. Silently, Alex studied Sawyer’s companions. To Sawyer’s right stood a handsome black man— _James Olsen, second in command_ , her mind provided—expression composed but not so composed Alex couldn’t detect the disapproval in his gaze. _Looks like not everyone on Team Sawyer is thrilled with this idea. Interesting._ She redirected her gaze to Sawyer’s other companion, a white man that appeared to be younger even than Alex herself and far more uncomfortable. Likely Winslow Schott Jr., Sawyer’s adopted brother and one of her top lieutenants. Also Sawyer’s tech wizard according to Vasquez. What appeared to be a tablet rested on the table in front of him. Alex wasn’t positive if his discomfort came from the suit, which he occasionally fidgeted with, or the situation or both. Either way, it was a marked contrast from how composed Sawyer and Olsen were.

Alex leaned casually back in her chair, tapping the fingers of one hand gently on the armrest. After another moment of silence she spoke, “You said you had information about Cadmus.”

Sawyer nodded, having resumed her seat and leaned back as well, as deliberately casual as Alex herself. “I do.” She paused then asked, “If I were to ask you what the odds are that Lane or Lord could take either myself or the DEO out, what would you say?”

Alex raised an eyebrow. _That_ was an interesting question. She wondered just how Sawyer had gotten news of the shipment. She made sure to keep her tone cool as she replied, “Individually? Maybe 20% if they got very lucky.”

“And together?”

“No better than 50. But you knew this already.”

Sawyer’s lips quirked into a slight smirk but she didn’t comment on the point. “And if they joined with Cadmus?”

Alex kept her expression impassive. “All three? Much better than 50. If you just brought me here to do math for you…” Alex shifted slightly in her seat as if to get up.

Sawyer chuckled lowly. “Not quite.” Sawyer steepled her fingers. “I heard about the theft,” she stated abruptly.

Alex cocked her head slightly at the abrupt subject change, eyes narrowing behind the sunglasses. “So this is what? An offer of protection? I think we’ll pass, thanks. If that’s all?” Alex began to rise, refusing to let some woman, even the head of a group nearly as dangerous as her own, try to intimidate her.

Sawyer didn’t react though Alex noted that both the men flanking her did. Olsen frowned even more while the other twitched as if he wanted to stop her. “And if Cadmus is with them next time?” Sawyer asked, voice as bland as if she was ordering lunch.

Alex finished rising to her feet, refusing to be caught in an awkward stance. Lightly she rested her fingertips on the tabletop and leaned forward just a touch, rolling her shoulders just right to subtly emphasize the intimidating stance. “Is that a threat, Sawyer?”

Sawyer cocked her head and smiled slightly. “Not at all. Simple question.”

Alex allowed a slightly smug smile to show. “Then they’ll see why our weapons are so highly regarded.”

“What if they keep doing it? A full scale attack?”

Alex leaned forward further, voice low and demanding. “What do you know?”

Sawyer waved a hand at the man to her left, Schott, the fidgety one. “We have proof that Cadmus has agreed to at least hear out Lord and Lane’s alliance proposal. And we suspect Lord and Lane’s alliance was not as temporary as hoped.”

“What proof?”

Sawyer glanced to her left and Alex turned her head slightly to look at the man there fully.

He startled slightly as if surprised to be the center of attention and Alex couldn’t entirely repress the eye roll. _Why on Earth would she even bring someone like that with her?_ Sawyer sounded mildly exasperated as she said, “Winn. The proof?”

“Right.” He grabbed the tablet from the table, fiddling with it briefly as he suddenly began walking around the table toward Alex. Alex straightened instinctively keeping her gaze on Sawyer as the man moved. Out of the corner of her eye she saw J’onn immediately step in between the man—Winn—and Alex, not even budging as Winn bounced right off the Martian’s chest. Winn looked up, seeming confused as to why he wasn’t able to move closer. Alex watched Sawyer’s body language closely.

She saw the way the other woman’s chest heaved just slightly as if exhaling a sigh. The exasperation was clearer this time as Sawyer spoke again. “He’s not a threat, Danvers. I promise.”

Alex quirked a half-smile. “Can’t blame a girl for being cautious.”

Sawyer smiled faintly in response. “Touché. Winn, just back up and explain.”

Alex flicked her gaze over long enough to watch Winn back off several feet before looking back to Sawyer, keeping her gaze on her counterpart as Winn spoke.

“I began hearing rumors a couple weeks ago about both Lord and Lane approaching Cadmus.”

“Separately?” Alex asked, gaze still fixed firmly on Sawyer who didn’t appear fazed or annoyed by Alex’s interruption.

“Yes. Initially. At first it was just rumors, same ones that pop up every so often.” Alex nodded slightly in acknowledgment. “After the attack on your shipment, the rumors started getting more pervasive. Eventually, I was able to intercept some messages. Or, well, pieces of messages. They’re all using very heavy encryption. But the messages definitely originate with Lord and Lane and are directed at Lillian Luthor herself.”

“How is this any different than in the past?”

Winn glanced at Sawyer briefly. Alex watched as she nodded and Winn continued. “Because this time, there’s messages directed the other way.”

Alex frowned slightly. “That means nothing. Those messages could be rebuffs.”

Winn winced but nodded. “True. I don’t think they are, though.”

Alex finally turned to fix him with her gaze. “Why not? Right now you don’t even have proof that Lord and Lane’s team-up is anything but temporary. It’s been three days. There have been no further attacks and no other signs of cooperation between the two groups.” She paused, looking back at Sawyer, hoping to gauge the other woman’s reaction. “In fact, there was a shootout between the two groups just this morning.”

Sawyer’s expression didn’t change but Alex noted a slight clenching of her hands before they relaxed once more. After a moment of silence, Sawyer shrugged slightly and spread her hands. “Verify it yourself then.”

Alex studied the woman for a long moment before shifting her gaze back to Winn and doing the same. He fidgeted under her gaze but didn’t speak. Finally, Alex asked, “Assuming I believe you. What, exactly, are you proposing?”

Sawyer answered but Alex kept her gaze on Winn, watching his reactions carefully. “A temporary alliance.” Winn looked unhappy with the suggestion but remained silent, moving back toward Sawyer’s side. Alex watched him go.

“You and me?”

Sawyer nodded. “Convince them it’s not worth trying to take us out.”

Alex nodded slowly, watching the slight grimace appear and disappear on Sawyer’s other man’s face. “I’ll think about it.” She glanced over at J’onn then Kara, nodding toward the door. Tossing a flippant “Sawyer” over her shoulder, Alex stalked out on Kara’s heels, sensing more than seeing J’onn and the bodyguards fall in behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy waited slightly impatiently at the small table tucked into a corner near the back of the restaurant. Idly, her fingers drummed on the table top next to her cup of tea. Her father was late. Naturally. _We meet every month and he still can’t make it on time_. She was aware of just what he was involved in and how obviously that didn’t really lend itself punctuality sometimes but still, it irked her that he couldn’t manage to be on time even once for his own daughter.

She sighed and settled back in her chair, trying to relax. Which was made more difficult by the random message telling her to be careful that she’d received from Alex earlier. Lucy frowned, pondering the message. Not that Alex wasn’t regularly on edge but she didn’t tend to randomly tell any of her older siblings, or siblings by marriage, to be careful without good reason. And, naturally, the message had been timed to just prior to when Lucy’s father was supposed to show up. Lucy knew that was intentional, to keep her from calling and demanding an answer since being on the phone with one gang leader when about to have dinner with another was a bad plan. Even when you were related to both. Maybe _especially_ when you were related to both.

Lucy huffed slightly in annoyance and made a mental note to find new blackmail material for her sister-in-law. It certainly wouldn’t do for Alex to think she could run around being all cryptic and not telling her sisters what was going on just because Alex was in charge of the DEO. Besides, _Alex_ was the one that needed to be careful far more than Lucy did.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on that train of thought as her father, finally, arrived. Lucy stood, plastering on a smile that was half fake and half genuine. “Dad.”

“Lucy.” He returned the smile. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Briefly, Lucy considered making a snarky comment about being sorry never being enough to change it but refrained, waving it off instead. “I understand. You’re busy after all.”

After a quick hug, they settled in their respective chairs, her father immediately waving over the waiter to take their orders. Lucy barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes at his impatience, smiling briefly at the waiter instead and placing her order. Once the waiter was gone, Lucy took a slow breath and braced herself for the questions that always started their meals.

“So, Lucy, how have you been? Is that woman still treating you right?”

Suppressing a sigh of annoyance, Lucy nodded. “ _Kara_ treats me perfectly. Which you would know if you ever bothered to speak to her.” She couldn’t keep the snap out of her voice.

“She’s a Danvers,” her father replied as if that answered everything.

This time, Lucy didn’t even bother to suppress the eye roll. “I’ve told you she doesn’t have anything to do with her sister.”

“Hmph.”

“It’s been seven years since the wedding, dad.”

“Maybe our next dinner.”

Lucy sighed. That was always his answer. And, admittedly, she didn’t particularly _want_ them to meet given she was blatantly lying about Kara’s relationship with Alex, it was still frustrating.

“How’s your work? You know, you could help out a lot joining the family business.”

 _Round two. Fight._ Lucy gathered her patience and replied, as she always did, “CatCo is great as always. Sorry, dad, I still enjoy the legal issues inherent in a media company more than a security company.” She paused then continued, “I’ll actually be moving up to Deputy General Counsel next month.”

Her father nodded thoughtfully, smiling briefly at the news. “Congratulations, honey.” He paused and she frowned slightly. Usually there was an immediate follow-up question, most often about some news story that he didn’t approve of. Hesitation was unusual and made her wary. The waiter chose that minute to bring their salads and both waited until they were alone again before speaking. With a clearly studied casualness, her father asked, “So, I know you said that wo—that _Kara_ is treating you right. What about her sister? Heard anything about her?”

Lucy narrowed her eyes slightly. She was almost positive that her father didn’t actually know that she and Kara kept in touch, closely in touch even, with Alex but the question was suspicious. Slowly, she replied, “I told you, Kara doesn’t speak to her sister much.”

He nodded again. “She’s dangerous. You should keep it that way.”

Lucy nodded slowly. “We will.”

She wondered if he was going to press further when his phone rang. Frowning, he pulled it out of his inner suit pocket and looked at the screen. “Excuse me, Lucy, I have to take this. I’ll be right back.”

Lucy nodded and forced a smile. As he turned to head for the exit, she craned her neck and just barely kept from inhaling audibly when she caught a glimpse of the screen. Pulling out her own phone, she quickly typed a message to her wife, asking Kara to listen in to her father’s conversation surreptitiously. As she exited the text message she paused and frowned thoughtfully at the one from Alex. The simple “Be careful” seemed much more prescient now. Tucking the phone away, she returned to her salad, secure in the knowledge that Kara would be nearby, as she always was when Lucy was meeting with her father, in case this went south. An option that suddenly seemed far more likely than it usually did.

Her father returned only a few minutes later and Lucy felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Knowing it was either Kara or Alex, she didn’t check but relaxed slightly knowing they were looking out for her. Her father seemed to be in a better mood as he settled back into his seat, smiling warmly at her. Lucy felt a cold shiver run down her spine at the sight. Sam Lane being gleeful after a talk with Max Lord could mean nothing good for her family. Calling on her years of experience as an attorney, Lucy managed to return the smile and settle into the superficial performance that characterized their dinners.

* * *

 

Yawning, Lucy padded into the kitchen of her and Kara’s townhouse. She half-smiled sleepily when she saw the coffee was already made and poured herself a cup. A cup she nearly dropped when she turned around and yelped upon finding her sister-in-law casually sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the paper. Shaking off the hot coffee that had sloshed onto her hand she grumbled, “Damn it, Alex. What the hell?”

Alex looked up at her mildly. “You said we needed to talk.”

Lucy curled up in one of the table chairs, hands wrapped around the hot mug. “I said we needed to talk. I didn’t say you needed to sneak into my house and scare the crap out of me at six a.m.”

Alex quirked a smile, voice tinged with clear amusement when she responded. “I didn’t ‘sneak.’ Kara let me in.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Of course she did. Remind me to kill my wife later.”

Alex chuckled, setting the paper down. “I’m sure that will be very effective, Luce.”

“Hmph. She deserves it. So do you.”

Alex blinked, raising an eyebrow. “What did _I_ do?”

“You and your cryptic messages. ‘Be careful.’ Couldn’t just say what the problem was. Have to be sneaky. Just because you have two doctorates and are a big bad mob boss now don’t think you can get away with keeping things from me. Or Kara.”

Alex nodded soberly. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Lucy narrowed her eyes then pointed a finger straight at Alex. “Don’t do that. I can tell you’re laughing at me. Don’t make me find the embarrassing baby pictures and have them ‘conveniently’ be distributed on the DEO server.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Pretty sure she would.” Kara sauntered in, back from walking their dogs, an older, fluffy Great Pyrenees named Krypto and a year old Mastiff pup Lucy had dubbed Captain Underpants, or Captain for short. “Dare to what?”

Lucy watched with a smirk as the dogs caught sight of Alex and Krypto immediately shoved his head in her sister-in-law’s lap, Captain plopping on her foot to drool happily on her shoes. Alex grimaced down at Krypto, though her hand reached up to scratch behind his ears automatically. “That’s what you get for wearing a black suit to our house.” Lucy tilted her head back for a brief kiss before answering Kara’s question. “Dare to distribute our dear baby sister’s embarrassing baby photos on the DEO servers.”

Kara arched an eyebrow, moving another chair next to Lucy and settling in it, draping one arm around her shoulders and setting her own coffee mug on the table with the other. Lucy smiled contentedly and curled closer to Kara’s warmth, letting her head rest on her wife’s shoulder. She felt Kara drop a soft kiss on her hair as they both studied Alex.

“Why are we distributing Alex’s baby photos?”

“She was laughing at me.”

“I was not!” Alex’s head jerked up.

Lucy nodded. “You were.”

Lucy was almost positive she could _hear_ her wife roll her eyes at the two of them. “Alex, it’s not nice to laugh at Lucy.”

Lucy smirked at Alex who grumbled and settled back in her chair. “It’s not nice to gang up on me.”

“You’re the youngest. It’s our job,” Lucy replied automatically, sipping her coffee with a bland smile.

Alex rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. I like Lois better anyway.”

Lucy gasped in outrage. “You do _not_!”

Alex smirked, “ _Anyway_ , you said you needed to talk to me.”

“You take that back, Alexandra Elizabeth Danvers.”

“Really? Middle naming me??”

“You deserve it.” Lucy felt Kara’s chest shake slightly with laughter and smirked at Alex, knowing Kara wasn’t going to intervene with the argument.

Alex scowled and refused to answer. Lucy kept smirking, sipping her coffee and waiting. Finally, Alex growled, “Fine. I take it back, _Lucille Ellen_.”

Lucy scowled back. Really, she should have expected that. Alex smirked and Lucy rolled her eyes. She felt Kara take a breath behind her and turned her head slightly as her wife spoke. “Ok, back to the topic at hand.”

“Right.” Lucy paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, switching mentalities from interacting with her baby sister to interacting with the head of the DEO and powerful CEO. “So, as you know last night was my monthly ‘we’re still pretending to be family’ dinner with dear ole dad.” Everyone at the table rolled their eyes and Lucy smiled slightly. “Yes, well. Anyway. He got a call not long in. I didn’t hear anything but I got a quick look at the phone screen as he turned to head outside to talk. It was Lord.”

Alex’s smirk dropped and she frowned. “That’s… not good news.”

Kara picked up the narrative. “Lucy sent me a message to listen in since I’m always in the area.” Alex nodded, gaze still troubled. “They’re definitely working together, Alex. Or at least hoping to.”

“Fuck.”

Kara nodded and Lucy looked over to catch the grim look on her wife’s face. “It gets worse.”

Alex arched an eyebrow. “Let me guess. They’re trying to get Cadmus to listen to them and, for the first time, it might be working.”

Kara nodded. “Looks like Sawyer was right.”

“Fuck,” Alex said again. Alex stared into space thoughtfully for a moment, one hand absently petting Krypto on the head and the other curled around her coffee mug.

It was Kara who eventually broke the silence. “What do you want to do, Alex? We could wait it out and see what happens. Or try to get to Cadmus first.”

Alex grimaced. “No. The first is too passive and the second…” She trailed off but Lucy nodded anyway. The DEO may have started with Cadmus but that was a far different organization than it was now, hence the schism years before. Sure, the DEO was no rah-rah pro-alien group like the Sawyer Gang was but what Cadmus did… that was unacceptable. Especially given her own personal alien that was currently radiating warmth at her back. Alex sighed, tapping her mug briefly. “I’ll have Vasquez dig up everything we can on Sawyer. If we’re going to do this, even temporarily, we’re going in with our eyes as wide open as possible. I don’t want to start another gang war but I’m not going to sit here and let it destroy everything we’ve built either should one erupt.”

Lucy nodded and she felt Kara do the same behind her. Alex sighed, running a hand through her hair before dropping it back to Krypto’s head. “Kar, can you dig through the _Tribune_ archives and see what’s been reported about Sawyer and her activities?”

“Of course, Alex.”

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose briefly. “Lucy, any suggestions?”

Lucy hummed for a moment as she thought. “I can’t say I can predict my father too well. But when it comes to interacting with Sawyer… it won’t be enforceable in an actual court given the nature of the agreement but should you decide to make this more permanent I would recommend getting it in writing. If nothing else, it’ll give you cover with the gangs themselves should you have to, ah, become the sole leader for violating it.”

She watched Alex’s lips twitch slightly at the euphemism. “Got it. I think we’ll stick with temporary to start. With luck, we can push back enough, maybe take out some key personnel, and they’ll all back off and go back to their own holes.” She was silent for a moment, clearly considering her next words. “I’ll reach out to Sawyer discretely and set up a second meeting. My first priority today is making sure the new security measures are implemented on all shipments, however. Hopefully this won’t blow up in our faces in the next day or so.” She sighed and scrubbed her hands over her face. “Depending on how this goes, we’re going to have to talk more about your dad, Lucy.”

Lucy shrugged slightly but nodded. She had long since resigned herself to the fact that her father was just as, if not more, likely to get killed in the line of “business” as die of old age in his bed. Given his feelings on her wife’s family, her wife _being_ a wife, and aliens in general, Lucy wasn’t really sure she’d miss him much. But… he was still her father. She knew Alex didn’t kill indiscriminately, however, and that gave her comfort. Unlike her own father, and his new friends, Alex had some lines. Lucy just hoped Sawyer had the same ones or this was going to go to hell really fast.

* * *

 

Alex heard the door open to the private room and casually flipped the page of her newspaper rather than look up. She was lounging comfortably in an armchair by the fireplace, feet propped up on the hearth. This room was her favorite feature of this particular whiskey bar. Which was why she owned it. Not that anyone knew that. Idly, she commented, “Looks like the basketball team is going to miss out on the playoffs again. Shame.” She heard a scoff and grinned a little to herself.

“Really, Danvers?”

Finally, Alex lowered the paper and turned her head, grin broadening slightly as she caught sight of Sawyer. The other woman was dressed far less casually than Alex herself, clad once more in a tailored suit, though with a wine colored shirt this time. Alex appreciated the contrast to her own jeans and leather jacket. The flash of something in Sawyer’s eyes told Alex that she did too. Grin twisting into a smirk, Alex let her motorcycle booted feet fall to the ground as she straightened in the chair and waved to the one next to her. “What, not interested in our local sports team?”

Sawyer arched an eyebrow as she took a seat, danger and power radiating off of her. “I prefer football.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the midwesterner in you, isn’t it?”

Sawyer rolled her eyes. “This is payback for asking about odds last time we met isn’t it?”

Alex laughed softly, settling back into her chair once more and propping her feet back up. “Perhaps.” She folded the paper and dropped it to the floor next to her before interlacing her fingers and studying Sawyer for a long moment. To her credit, Sawyer stared right back, deep brown eyes glinting in challenge. Alex ignored the man standing to Sawyer’s right. Olsen might be her second in command but right now she didn’t care about him. J’onn hovered to her own left, watching everything with what she knew was his characteristic serious expression. “Drink?”

Sawyer smirked. “Do they only have American whiskey here? Or is it possible to get an actual Scotch?”

Alex chuckled and raised a hand, waving over the server that had been waiting unobtrusively in the corner. “I’m sure we have something you can appreciate.” When Sawyer hesitated, Alex arched an eyebrow. “Don’t trust me?”

Sawyer’s eyes narrowed and she inclined her head slightly. “Not really. But since you’re buying…” She flicked a glance at the menu the waiter had handed her and casually dropped a finger to the top of the menu.

Alex laughed lowly; she would bet Sawyer had just ordered the most expensive scotch on the menu just because she could. Still smiling a bit, she ordered her customary drink and waited for the waiter to disappear out the door. “So.”

Sawyer cocked her head. “So.”

Alex paused, ordering her thoughts. Her expression dropped back to calmness as she started. “Lane and Lord. I have confirmation that they are, in fact, allies.”

“Oh really? And where did you get this confirmation?”

Alex answered carefully. “I know someone with a personal connection to one of them. They were able to identify an incoming call from the phone screen and overheard his end of the conversation.” Sawyer definitely didn’t need to know that Kara had, in fact, been able to hear the other end of the phone conversation also.

Sawyer grimaced. “That tells me practically nothing, Danvers. Who is it and who do they know?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

“I see. Just how—” Sawyer cut herself off as the door opened and the waiter returned with their drinks. Once he’d left, she silently sampled the scotch nodding slowly in approval. “Nice selection you have here, Danvers. As to your ‘source,’ just how do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“Well… I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

Sawyer scoffed. “I trust you about as far as I can throw you, Danvers.”

Alex chuckled, toasting Maggie with her tumbler. “Fair enough, Sawyer. I’m still not telling you. It would be unsafe for my source.” She waited then shrugged slightly. “I can provide the time and location. I’m sure your personnel can hack either Lord or Lane’s system and retrieve the recording.”

“And you haven’t done that already?”

“I didn’t say that. But I doubt you would accept my copy of a purported recording any more than I would yours.”

Sawyer’s lips curled slightly in acknowledgment of the point. “Let’s assume it’s true then. We now know for sure Lane and Lord have agreed to an alliance. At the highest echelons.”

Alex nodded grimly. “This is no attempted internal overthrow.”

Sawyer sighed and nodded in response. “My proposal still stands.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully. She was about to respond when her eyes caught motion as J’onn shifted next to her. She pinned him with a look. “Something to add, J’onn?”

Alex noted that Sawyer didn’t look surprised at her use of the man’s name. Mentally she confirmed her suspicion that Sawyer likely knew at least the names of her top lieutenants. J’onn didn’t answer immediately, studying Alex then Sawyer for a moment. _Just make the proposal; let’s see her reaction._ He didn’t react but she caught the brief glint in his eye indicating he’d heard the thought.

“Perhaps, Ms. Danvers, a more formal alliance is in order now that we have confirmation that one is in place between Lord and Lane.”

Alex didn’t have to wait long to see what Sawyer thought of the idea.

The other woman spoke almost immediately. “No way. This is a temporary alliance to get them off our backs.”

Alex smirked. “Not even a short written agreement?”

“Do I look like an idiot to you, Danvers?”

Alex shrugged eloquently and watched the anger flash briefly in Sawyer’s eyes as she caught the implication that, yes, maybe Alex _did_ think so. Out loud, Alex responded, “How do I know you won’t go back on our deal then?”

“How do I know you won’t?” Sawyer shot back.

“Touché. I guess we really do have to trust each other.”

“I guess so. For now.”

Alex nodded, sipping her scotch. “So, how exactly does this proposal of yours work?”

Sawyer responded instantly, “Immediate ceasefire between our groups. You have no authority over my personnel, nor I over yours. Territories are still off limits. You and I meet to determine the best course of action and how to involve our respective personnel without interfering with the other. Deal to end upon the terms we agree. Any profits are split evenly.”

Alex arched an eyebrow, slightly impressed. She had fully expected a much less fair deal. This offering was downright decent. “I see. How long do I have to decide whether to accept or counter?”

Sawyer gazed at her intently. “Twenty-four hours.”

Alex considered. She had the gala that night at NCU and inventor meetings the following day. However, she should be able to confer with J’onn first thing in the morning, if not after the gala. Vasquez would certainly have input but that could be acquired after the inventor meetings. Slowly, she nodded. “Deal.”

Sawyer downed the last of her scotch and stood. Alex tilted her head to look up, not bothering to stand. Sawyer flicked her gaze down Alex’s lounging form for a moment, before meeting her gaze one last time. Alex smiled slowly up at the other woman, “See something you like, Sawyer?”

Sawyer’s gaze turned heated for a moment and her own lips curled into a seductive smile. “Oh, you wish, Danvers.” She glanced down Alex’s body once more, smile edging into a smirk. “Thanks for the scotch. Until tomorrow,” she drawled, voice dropping into a more intimate register before turning and striding out, Olsen on her heels.

Alex watched her leave, smile never leaving her face. After the door had closed, she heard J’onn groan quietly. With a soft laugh, she looked over at her longtime friend, father figure, and mentor. “There a problem, J’onn?”

He gave her a disgruntled look. “You know very well what the problem is, Alex. And you deliberately broadcast those thoughts.”

She laughed again. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh.” His voice was deeply skeptical but laced with clear affection. “We’d best leave soon. Kara will kill you if you’re late for the gala.”

“It’s not for three hours,” she protested.

“Mm, and your sister will need at least two to make sure all three of you are ready to her standards.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Lucy has impossible standards.”

“Perhaps. But it appears we are stuck with her. Shall we?” He offered a hand with a slight smile.

Alex sighed but took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. “Fine. But I go under protest.”

“I’ll make sure Lucy knows.”

“You’d better,” she grumbled, finishing her own drink and setting the tumbler down on the table before following him out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex lounged in her sisters’ kitchen, idly flipping through information on her phone. J’onn sat nearby, doing the same. Both were clad in tuxedos, though Alex’s bore a distinctly feminine cut. She had finally escaped Lucy’s clutches a few minutes prior once her hair and makeup were done and never was Alex so grateful she kept her hair short now as when there was a formal event like this one. Lucy and Kara were still in the process of doing Kara’s hair in some artful design that Alex had little interest in.

She glanced at the clock and sighed. They needed to leave soon to avoid being _too_ late and thus avoid Kara’s pout. Turning back to her phone, she asked J’onn casually, “So what did you think of Sawyer’s proposal?”

He grunted, not looking up before responding. “I think you need to be careful of her given her refusal to put things in writing.”

“Yes, of course. But the details?”

He was silent for a moment and Alex continued flipping through pages of a testing report that had popped up in her email from one of El Mayarah’s scientists. Eventually he responded, voice thoughtful, “It’s more fair than I expected.”

“Which makes you wary,” Alex interjected.

He glanced over with a wry smile. “You’re one to talk.”

Alex shrugged slightly with a small grin. “You taught me well. But agreed, not what I expected.” She paused thoughtfully. “I’ll have to think more on it. On the surface it sounds good but…” She trailed off and shrugged one shoulder.

J’onn nodded in agreement. “We’ll discuss it further tomorrow.”

Alex nodded then turned her head in unison with J’onn as her sisters _finally_ emerged. Both were clad in floor length dresses that matched in color though not in cut. The deep blue of the dresses also contrasted nicely with Alex’s red vest. Alex rose smoothly, dropping into a not-quite-mocking bow as she slipped her phone into her pocket. “Ladies.”

She looked back up in time to catch them both rolling their eyes at her. With a half-grin, she straightened and gestured at the door. “Shall we? Wouldn’t want to be late, right, Kara?”

Kara swatted Alex lightly on the arm before grinning and looping her arm through Alex’s. “Definitely not. Security is waiting outside I assume?”

“Yep. We don’t anticipate problems, however, particularly since Max Lord will also be in attendance.”

Lucy shot her a sly smile. “As will Maggie Sawyer.”

Alex arched an eyebrow as they headed for the door. “Your point?”

“Kara said you seemed quite fascinated by her in the restaurant.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Kara has a big mouth.”

“I am _right_ here.”

“ _And_ she’s wrong,” Alex continued. J’onn coughed none too discreetly behind her and Alex shot him a glare. “It’s business. Nothing else.”

Kara patted Alex’s arm with the one not looped through. “Of course it is, sis.”

Alex thought about protesting again but knew that would just make it worse. With a grumble she subsided. Outside, she dropped Kara’s arm and waved her and Lucy toward their car. “I’ll arrive about ten minutes after you two. Be careful.”

Both women rolled their eyes at her. Kara replied, voice dry, “ _You_ be careful, baby sister.”

“I’m not _that_ young!”

Lucy and Kara just grinned at her before sliding into their car, the door held open by one of the security guards employed by the DEO. As soon as they’d moved away, Alex tensed, head raised alertly as she scanned the area carefully, arms crossed and standing tall as she waited for the car to leave. She didn’t even bother glancing over as the door shut and the car started, gaze flicking around warily. Her men were patrolling the area as always, keeping track of any of Lane’s goons so they could maintain the careful façade that she wasn’t involved with Kara and Lucy in any way but it never hurt to be extra careful.

The car had vanished around a corner before she moved toward hers, ignoring the security guards and nodding absently as her door was opened. She slid inside and waited for the door to shut and J’onn to drop into the passenger seat. He glanced over his shoulder at her and she nodded, taking a deep breath and flipping her mindset from annoyed little sister and into mob boss slash renowned scientist and university donor. She double-checked the placement of the small pistol in her ankle holster, briefly entertaining an annoyed thought that a proper gun in the small of her back destroyed the line of the tuxedo, rendering it far too obvious.

Satisfied that her weapon was ready just in case, she directed her attention to the passing buildings of the city. The car was taking a circuitous route to the university campus, both to ensure she arrived suitably separate from Kara and Lucy and also to deter would-be assassins. Kara and Lucy’s car would do similar, she knew, though on a lesser scale. They were far lower priority targets and Kara’s bulletproof body would protect Lucy should something go awry. Still, she kept her gaze outward, memorizing the route taken even as she knew J’onn would be doing the same.

Finally they arrived at the site of the gala, one of the larger buildings on the NCU campus and Alex sighed. She hated these sorts of events though they were required for her work at El Mayarah. She attended as few as possible but being one of the biggest donors to NCU’s engineering and science colleges meant it would have been far too difficult to duck out of this one, a gala specifically to honor the donors to the new bioengineering and criminal justice buildings, the former of which would have her name on it. And Maggie Sawyer’s on the other. Alex’s smiled briefly at the irony of the latter.

 The car glided to a stop and Alex shot J’onn a smile as he opened the door for her before heading into the building, ignoring the few reporters that were covering the event. Once inside, Alex paused inside the door, her gaze scanning the interior, automatically noting entrances and exits and the location of the few security guards. Out of the corner of her eye she noted J’onn immediately blending with the crowd, smiling charmingly and as comfortable in his role as El Mayarah’s Executive VP as he was as her mentor, father, and helping her run the DEO.

Alex’s icy gaze continued to sweep the room as she moved further in. Other donors drifted up to her but the conversation rarely lasted past pleasantries, Alex’s reputation as an ice queen standing her in good stead as she answered generic queries perfunctorily.  She stopped briefly and engaged in conversation with the Deans of the Colleges of Engineering and Science, smiling politely and trying to brush off the effusive thanks for her donation toward the new building. It didn’t really work but she was at least able to direct the conversation toward actual bioengineering topics rather than the money.

Alex had finally extricated herself from the conversation with the Deans and was working her way toward the bar when she caught sight of Sawyer. Dressed in a floor length red dress (that Alex couldn’t help but notice appeared to, somehow, match her own vest _perfectly_ ), she drew gazes as she laughed with a man Alex was almost certain was the head of the Criminal Justice Department. Tearing her gaze away, Alex continued heading for the bar, trying to shove away the comments from Lucy and Kara earlier about Sawyer. Flashes of the brief exchange at the end of their meeting, where Alex had been certain she saw _something_ in Sawyer’s gaze, flickered through her mind and Alex shoved those away as well.

She collected the whiskey she had ordered and moved to the wall, sipping slowly and surveying the room. She caught sight of Lucy and Kara on the far side of the room but neither of them looked in her direction. Deliberately, she looked away from them dismissively. The sound of her name caught her attention and she turned just in time to see the president of the university plowing toward her with a wide smile, Sawyer in tow. Alex caught Sawyer’s eye just as the other woman gave her a quick once over. Sawyer smirked, hovering just behind the president and deliberately dragged her gaze down Alex’s lanky form again, this time slowly. Meeting Alex’s gaze again, Sawyer raised her eyebrows briefly, smirk deepening into a suggestive smile, dimples showing.

Alex smirked back, slowly perusing Sawyer’s form before meeting the other woman’s eyes again. She heard just enough of the president’s words to respond smoothly, pushing herself off the wall, “No, I don’t think I have had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Sawyer.” She held out a hand, gaze locked with Sawyer’s. “Doctor Alex Danvers.”

Sawyer gripped her hand firmly. “Maggie Sawyer.”

Alex nodded, holding Sawyer’s hand for a couple moments longer than was strictly necessary. “Of SMW Security. I’ve heard of you. Your men appear quite impressive… or so I’ve heard.”

Sawyer raised her eyebrows slightly, gaze dancing with amusement. “Well, what you’ve done with El Mayarah is equally impressive… or so I’ve heard.”

Alex allowed herself a slow smile, enjoying the game. “We do what we can.” She caught the puzzled look on the president’s face out of the corner of her eye but ignored it. Her grin turned slightly challenging and she held out her hand toward Sawyer once more, this time palm up. “May I have this dance, Ms. Sawyer?”

Surprise flickered across Sawyer’s face briefly before she returned Alex’s smile with a seductive one of her own. “It would be my pleasure, Dr. Danvers.” Sawyer slipped her hand lightly into Alex’s, keeping their gazes locked.

Alex’s grin broadened and she closed her hand gently over Sawyer’s, absently handing her glass to a passing waiter. Ignoring the president, she immediately led her counterpart to the dance floor. As soon as they reached an open spot, Alex lightly tugged Sawyer into her arms, free hand coming to rest firmly on the small of the other woman’s back. She fancied she felt a shiver run through Sawyer’s frame as her hand collided with warm skin but pushed the thought away. Now was certainly not the time to get distracted, no matter how gorgeous Maggie Sawyer looked in that dress or how warm her back felt or… Alex shook her head lightly, simply smiling in response to Sawyer’s questioning look as she began to lead them in a waltz.

“Who said you got to lead, Danvers?” Sawyer asked dryly, though Alex noted she continued to move easily in the dance.

Alex grinned, a little cocky, “You did when you didn’t ask me first.”

Sawyer smirked and deliberately spun away. When she spun back, Alex abruptly found herself no longer leading. She laughed softly, and inclined her head just slightly in acknowledgment. “Well done, Ms. Sawyer.”

“If we’re going to work together, you should probably call me Maggie.”

“Ah. Are we working together?” Alex smiled and shifted her hands quickly, forcing another lead change. She used the hand resting once more on Sawyer’s lower back to tug the woman closer. Sawyer narrowed her eyes slightly, gaze heated.

Sawyer shrugged slightly. “I didn’t take you for a slow decision maker.”

Alex studied her for a moment. It was a poor attempt to goad her but she suspected Sawyer knew that and was merely curious to see her response. Smirking, she leaned in. Sawyer’s heels equalized their heights and Alex made sure to let her lips brush against the other woman’s ear as she spoke. “There’s something to be said for slow… Maggie.” She knew she wasn’t imagining the slight shiver that time and instinctively pressed her hand more solidly against Maggie’s back.

As she pulled back, Alex caught sight of a slight blush and a flash in Maggie’s eyes that said she was thoroughly enjoying this game. They danced in silence for a moment longer before Maggie leaned in, copying Alex’s actions almost exactly. It was Alex’s turn to unsuccessfully suppress a shiver as Maggie spoke directly in her ear, voice low and warm. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Alex. Don’t be late, I’d hate to have to take care of… things… myself.” Smiling suggestively, Maggie stepped away, allowing her hand to trail across the lapel of Alex’s tuxedo jacket and tug briefly on her tie before dropping it entirely. With a wink, she turned and headed for the door, leaving Alex standing with a bemused smile and desperately attempting to tamp down the sudden rush of desire.

It had been a long time since anyone had dared to challenge her on any level and most women ended up either too intimidated or too obsessed with her wealth for Alex to keep them around for long. She had a feeling Maggie Sawyer would be nothing like that… not that she was considering getting involved on a personal level. But still, part of her wondered what it would be like given their respective positions and reputations.

Shaking her head slightly, Alex dropped the smile, pulling the normal impassive expression back across her face. She glanced around and judged she had been in attendance long enough. Particularly since Maxwell Lord was making his way toward her, all arrogant swagger and smug smile. Alex began to make her way toward the exit, gaze flicking around and meeting J’onn’s briefly. He nodded very slightly and she could tell he had begun extricating himself from his current conversation.

Alex sighed as she heard an unwelcome voice behind her. “Doctor Danvers.”

She glanced over her shoulder without slowing, commenting blandly, “Max.”

He caught up and leaned in to speak lowly into her ear. She had to stop herself from cringing away, the sensation of having him that close worlds away from the sensation of having Maggie— _Sawyer_ —do the same. “Leaving so soon, _Alex_?”

She didn’t look at him as she replied, voice cool, “The party has clearly gotten tedious. After all, they let you in.”

“You should be more careful, particularly when it comes to someone like Sawyer. Being near her can be hazardous to your health… among other things.”

She heard the slight growl in his voice and smirked. Flicking a hand dismissively in Max’s direction, she nodded automatically at the doorman. “And being near you is hazardous to my stomach ulcers. Goodbye, Max.”

As soon as she’d finished speaking, she felt J’onn’s comforting presence shouldering his way between herself and Lord. She glanced over and smiled slightly. “Enjoy the party, J’onn?”

He smiled back, both of them ignoring the fuming figure of Lord. “As always, Alex. There are some intriguing possibilities for backing that we should discuss.”

She nodded. “Sounds good. Have Angela schedule a sit-down later this week to go over them.” As she slipped into the waiting car, she grinned and sent Lord a sarcastic wave. He sneered before turning on his heel and stalking back into the gala. Alex laughed softly as she leaned back into her seat, enjoying the quiet darkness of the car as the door was shut behind her.

J’onn sighed as he settled into the passenger. “Is antagonizing him really necessary?”

Alex shrugged, tilting her head back and relaxing. “Necessary? Not really. But it’s fun.”

J’onn shook his head but laughed fondly at her response as the car pulled away. Alex grinned up at the ceiling.

* * *

 

Maggie studied the figures and numbers in front of her as she waited for Danvers to arrive. The office she was currently inhabiting belonged to one of her more rarely used warehouses on the docks. It was located just her side of the border between hers and Danvers’ territory, as close to neutral ground as they were going to get out on the docks, and also the reason it was rarely used. Maggie preferred her personal shipments to come into the docks farther inside her own territory and knew Danvers did the same. The result was a thin strip of warehouses that ostensibly belonged to one or the other’s territory, and which were fiercely guarded from the likes of Lane who had been trying to get a foothold on the docks for years, but weren’t used all that often.

She glanced up at sounds from outside. She was currently alone in the office but James and Winn waited just outside for Danvers to arrive, presumably with her own entourage. Maggie was surprised at how much she was looking forward to seeing Danvers again. The previous night at the gala had been… intriguing. Sure, it was known in National City that Dr. Alex Danvers, CEO and Head Scientist of El Mayarah was a lesbian but Maggie had to admit she hadn’t quite been expecting her to be that open about it in public, especially not given their respective positions in the… less sunny… side of National City. Not that she was complaining. And there was certainly no harm in some flirting so long as they were both on the same page.

Of course, there was the question of what that page was. Maggie frowned. She certainly wasn’t thrilled about the idea of teaming up with the DEO. As far as she could tell, she and Danvers had a fundamental disagreement on what was acceptable as far as allowing access to alien tech and how to treat aliens. Case in point, she knew for a fact that Danvers had supplied her technology and weapons to Cadmus in the past with apparently no qualms about the fact that those same weapons would be used in the attempted elimination of all alien influence in Cadmus’ territory. Danvers had offered to make deals with Maggie in the past but she’d always turned them down. The Sawyer Gang openly welcomed aliens and wasn’t keen on exploiting them. She didn’t particularly feel comfortable with someone who didn’t share that same opinion. But she also couldn’t win a gang war on her own if it came to that and the DEO was at least the least unsavory of the options.

She sighed and shook the thoughts away. What mattered right now was protecting her own and if that meant teaming up with Danvers and the DEO, so be it. Maggie had just looked back down at her papers, having decided the noise must not have been Danvers’ arrival, when a knock sounded on the door. Sighing, she called, “Enter,” without looking up, assuming it to be James or Winn.

“You really don’t know how to greet a girl. Or is it just that you don’t like me?”

Maggie managed to keep her head from jerking up immediately at the sound of Danvers’ voice but she didn’t try to stop the amused smile. Casually, she looked up and shrugged. “My preferred greeting for women is a tad inappropriate in this scenario, Danvers. Sorry to disappoint.”

Danvers smirked, moving to the other side of the desk. “I don’t know; could be fun.” She glanced down at the papers strewn across the desk, adding, “And you might as well call me Alex if I’m supposed to be calling you Maggie.”

Maggie grinned a little at the response. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time then, _Alex_.” She scanned Alex’s attire briefly. Like herself, the other woman had clearly come straight from work but exchanged her suit jacket for a leather one, Maggie noted appreciatively. It gave Alex a dangerous vibe, well, more dangerous than the other woman already had. Maggie’s own suit jacket was draped over the chair behind her, her shirtsleeves rolled up. She caught Alex giving her a similar once over and smirked when she caught the other woman’s gaze. “See something you like?”

Alex chuckled. “You wish, Sawyer.”

Maggie laughed briefly. “Maybe so. Guess you’ll have to find out.”

“I look forward to it.” Alex pointedly dropped her gaze briefly to where Maggie’s collar gaped open before locking gazes again, smiling flirtatiously.

Maggie met her smile with one of her own before glancing down at the papers and waving a hand. Her tone was businesslike this time as she spoke, moving away from the flirtatious banter as enjoyable as it was. “Numbers and territory charts for Lane, Lord and Luthor. Information on Cadmus is harder to come by, unfortunately, so the primary facts and figures relate to Lane and Lord.”

Alex nodded, her own expression becoming serious as she studied the pages, moving them around methodically, eyes flickering rapidly across the texts. “Are the strength numbers accurate?”

Maggie cocked her head, watching Alex. “As far as we know.” She paused as Alex nodded absently. When the other woman didn’t comment further, Maggie asked, “Don’t you have your own data?”

Alex glanced up briefly with an amused grin. “Of course.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “You know, Danvers, this whole thing isn’t going to work if we’re not sharing equally.”

Alex smirked and then reached into her jacket pocket. Maggie tensed slightly. She was _fairly_ sure Alex wasn’t about to pull a gun on her but… Her hand twitched toward where her own weapon was concealed. Alex’s gaze flickered briefly toward the hand and the smirk broadened as she pulled her own hand free of the pocket and tossed a small object on the table. “I’m not about to shoot you, you know.”

Maggie smiled tightly. “Can’t be too careful.”

Alex paused then nodded slightly, expression sobering. “Fair.” She gestured toward the object which Maggie now recognized as a USB stick. “All of our data on strength, locations, and territory claims for Cadmus, Lane, and Lord.”

Maggie nodded, turning to the laptop set up to one side. She kept half an eye on Alex who returned to perusing the documents while Maggie loaded up the data Alex had given her on the screen. Idly, she wondered if the USB had a virus or backdoor embedded in it to allow Alex access to her systems later. If so, it wouldn’t do any good. Winn had purposely isolated this laptop from their system before allowing Maggie to bring it to the meeting. Involuntarily, her eyebrows rose as the documentation loaded. There was a lot of it.

“Impressive, Danvers.”

Alex glanced up briefly with a shrug. “Like you, we’ve been keeping close watch for a long time.”

Maggie couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t suppose you conveniently included your data on my little organization, hmm?”

Alex laughed and shook her head. “In your dreams, Sawyer.”

Maggie shrugged, smiling slightly as she returned her attention to the computer. “Can’t blame a girl for asking.”

Alex chuckled again, looking back down at the desk. “I suppose not.”

Silence reigned for several minutes as both women perused the new data. Maggie mentally compared it to the information Winn had compiled and noted that, for the most part, the estimations seemed to match. However, she had to admit, the DEO had managed to obtain far more information on Cadmus than Maggie had thought possible. Details were still rather sketchy but there was definitely more information there than her own organization had been able to find. She wondered if this really was everything or if Danvers had kept some back. She also wondered just how the DEO had been able to find this information out, but she suspected Alex wasn’t likely to tell her.

She turned back to Alex to find the other woman watching her quietly, a look Maggie couldn’t quite place on her face. Maggie arched an eyebrow questioningly.

Alex simply smiled and waved a hand at the laptop, the expression vanishing. “What do you think?”

Maggie narrowed her eyes but let it drop for now, the issue of preventing a full scale, five way gang war far more important at the moment. “I think, assuming your information is correct, that it’s a very good idea to nip this in the bud if possible.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully. “If we can, yes. Unfortunately, it appears that simply uniting might not be enough to do so. Your numbers generally match what we’ve discovered and while a unification of Lane and Lord is, in fact, not likely to topple either of us, much less both together, they can do quite a bit of damage.”

“Have they been able to acquire anymore DEO tech?”

Alex scoffed and looked offended. “Of course not. They tried again a couple nights ago. Everyone in the attacking force was killed.”

Maggie nodded, trying not to laugh at the offended look. “And your own people?”

“No casualties.”

“Good to know. Hopefully, you can keep it up.”

“I can. Their only—very slim—hope is sheer numbers and they can’t maintain that for long.”

“And together we more than outnumber them. They would be foolish to try and escalate if we make an alliance known.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully. “Perhaps. There’s another option.”

Maggie frowned. “And that is?”

Alex shrugged eloquently, voice casual as she replied, “We eliminate the competition.”

“Do to them what they’re proposing to do to us.”

Alex nodded again. “If we take one out, the other is left in an even worse position than before.”

“It could also provoke them.”

“Possibly. But they’ll be weaker.”

“Even if Cadmus comes in?”

Alex shrugged again, apparently unconcerned. “We could always formally ally. Two on one would deter them.”

Maggie smiled grimly. “Thanks but no. We’re good.”

“Then I suppose we hope we can scare them into backing off.” Alex looked down for a moment, appearing to search for something. After a brief pause, she slid one of the maps of the city out from the stacks of paper. Once it was spread on top of the other papers, Maggie recognized it as the map that indicated where the territory lines were for all the gangs. Alex glanced up at her, waving a hand at the map. “Current territory.”

“Yes.”

Alex smiled slightly, clearly amused by the vaguely annoyed note in Maggie’s voice. She tapped a street approximately halfway between the DEO and the Sawyer Gang’s territory. “What if this was our border?”

Maggie arched an eyebrow, studying the map for a moment. “Potentially ideal as it would form a semi-unified front along the docks.”

Alex nodded. “Right. As of now, Lane’s territory provides a neat wedge for him and Lord to use.”

Maggie let more annoyance bleed into her voice. “I know this, Danvers. You’re proposing we take Lane out. He’s the weakest link and in the most vulnerable position relative to us. He doesn’t have the tech nor the strength to compete with either of us.”

Alex smirked. “Exactly.”

“And you don’t think they’ve thought of that? My guys are already reporting that Lane’s trying to step up recruitment as well as putting pressure on the civilians in his territory to raise funds. Lord is probably prepping to arm him.”

“All true. But if we move quickly, he can’t reinforce fast enough.”

“How quick is quickly?”

“Within a day.”

“Jesus, Danvers.”

“Can’t do it?” Alex’s voice was taunting.

Maggie scowled. “So you just propose to go in, guns blazing, and start the gang war yourself? Are you insane?”

Alex scoffed. “Of course not. I propose to round them all up and ship them out of the city. Literally.”

Maggie blinked. “How do you propose to do that?”

Alex smirked and tapped a building near the center of Lane’s territory. “This is one of his normal meeting places. We trick him and his lieutenants into showing. A good portion of their enforcers will be in the area then as guards. Surround them, round them up, ship them off.”

Maggie furrowed her brow, studying the map thoughtfully. It could actually work if they coordinated very, _very_ well. And could actually trick Lane into going along with it. And nothing went wrong. She sighed. “This is a disaster waiting to happen.”

Alex pursed her lips. “You have a better idea?”

And she didn’t; that was the problem. “How are you going to trick Lane into showing?”

Alex flashed a sudden smile. “That’s where you come in.”

“Only there?” Maggie sniped sarcastically.

Alex just grinned. “Among other places.” She winked.

Maggie rolled her eyes but favored Alex with a small smile at the terrible innuendo. “Please elaborate.”

“Here? The table isn’t the best spot for a hands on lesson I don’t think.”

Maggie shook her head with a rueful smile. She had walked right into that one. “Maybe later. If you’re good.”

“Oh, I’m _very_ good,” Alex purred leaning over the desk.

Maggie leaned in. “Maybe later I’ll let you prove that,” she whispered, just shy of Alex’s lips before pulling back abruptly, smirking at the frustrated look that flitted briefly across Alex’s face. “So, tricking Lane.” She controlled her voice carefully, trying not to let on how much the exchange had affected her.

Alex arched an eyebrow, dragging her gaze briefly down Maggie’s body before responding. “Later then. As for Lane, your tech guy seems pretty good.”

Maggie cocked her head. “Winn is excellent, yes.”

Alex nodded, all business once more. “Between him and the information mine—Vasquez—has they should be able to hack Lane and his lieutenants’ phones and send a fake message. Vasquez is an expert at impersonations and should have no problem making it appear genuine in format, tone, etc. We’ll have to time it perfectly so we don’t give them too much time to figure out it’s a mistake and leave.”

Maggie nodded. She dragged her finger across the map. “These spots should give us good vantage points. We’re going to have to be very careful not to raise the alarm. From what I understand, the people in Lane’s territory don’t like him much but they _are_ afraid of him. However, a big enough show of force and they should stay inside.”

“Right. What sort of armament do you need? They’re going to put up a fight no matter what we do.”

Maggie frowned. “We’re fine.” Alex gave her a skeptical look and Maggie’s frown deepened into a scowl. Sure, the DEO had the best tech and weapons in National City but Maggie wasn’t terribly keen on contributing to exploitation even indirectly.

“If we’re trying to avoid a complete bloodbath, you’re going to need some of my tech,” Alex pointed out.

Maggie heaved a sigh. Alex had a point and she hated it. “Fine. Temporary loan and then you can have it back.”

Alex cocked her head slightly, giving Maggie a curious smile. She leaned a hip against the desk, studying Maggie for a long moment. “You don’t like my technology.” It wasn’t a question.

Maggie gazed steadily back for a moment before pursing her lips briefly. “No. I don’t.”

“Why not?”

Maggie considered her answer. “Let’s say we appear to fundamentally disagree on the proper methods to acquire the underlying knowledge and who should have access to the end results.”

Alex snorted at the careful wordsmithing. “You dislike that I buy alien tech and weapons and am willing to sell to people like Cadmus when I’m done.”

Maggie pursed her lips and crossed her arms but didn’t answer.

Alex scoffed slightly. “Whatever. Look, either you can work with me or you can’t. Which is it?”

“Oh, I can work with you just fine, Danvers. That doesn’t mean I have to approve of your enterprises.”

“You _do_ know we’re both criminals, right?” Alex drawled.

Maggie shrugged. “Everyone has their lines.”

Alex gave her a half-smile, the offense appearing to have bled away. Or it was very carefully concealed. “I think you’ll find ours aren’t so different.” She turned her attention back to the papers, shuffling a few to find something in particular.

Maggie frowned thoughtfully at the top of Alex’s head, wondering just what the other woman had meant by that. Alex looked up, giving her an expectant look. Maggie’s lips tightened into a brief smile as she refocused on the discussion at hand. Dissecting the mystery that was Alex Danvers could wait. She looked down at the paper Alex was holding and let herself fall back into the rhythm of planning what was likely going to be the biggest gang-on-gang fight National City had ever seen.

* * *

 

Alex let herself in the back door of Kara and Lucy’s townhouse after receiving confirmation from J’onn that no one was in the vicinity that could identify her to Lane. She had just finished her meeting with Maggie. The details were hammered out, at least so far as Maggie knew. But there was one thing Alex knew she needed to do.

She had texted Kara in the car so neither woman showed any surprise when Alex wandered into the living room and knocked lightly on the wall. They did both, however, shoot her a concerned look. Kara immediately untangled herself from her wife and rose to hug Alex. “What’s wrong? You said it was urgent?”

“Yeah, it is.” Alex stepped back and waved Kara back to her seat. She considered sitting but opted to stand just in case this didn’t go well. Both her sisters appeared to be growing more concerned with each passing second and Alex took a breath before speaking. “I just met with Sawyer.”

The normal, suggestive quip was absent as both frowned. Kara cocked her head slightly. “About her proposal from the other day?”

Alex nodded. “Yes.”

Kara’s frown deepened. She was clearly concerned about the way Alex was acting. “And… you agreed, right? That was what you were leaning toward.”

Alex sighed and nodded again. “Yeah, yeah I did. We’re at least temporarily allied. There’s a… not really a problem but something you need to know. Well, that Lucy needs to know.”

“About my father.” Lucy’s voice was flat. “What did he do?”

“Nothing, yet. But he’s the weakest link.”

“You’re going to take him out.”

“Not ‘him’ per se. But his gang, yes. We can’t afford to have his territory dividing us. It provides too many fronts for the others to attack from if they unite.”

Lucy frowned. “So why are you telling me? You know I’m not involved with him.”

Alex smiled faintly. “No, I know that. I wanted to give you the opportunity to get him out.”

“Does Sawyer know you’re doing this, Alex?” Kara asked.

Alex scoffed. “Of course not. But it’s not her call and not her family.”

“You’re my family, Alex. You and Kara and J’onn and Lois and Clark. Not him,” Lucy stated.

Alex arched an eyebrow. “He’s still your father, Luce. I know you don’t care for him but I also know you still love him. And I would never harm him if I could avoid it.”

Lucy smiled slightly. “Thanks, Alex.”

“I can’t stop him from getting the message to set the trap. But you can distract him.”

Lucy shook her head. “No, he deserves it. He’s hurt a lot of people.”

“By that logic, I deserve it too, Lucy. I’m not exactly a paragon of virtue here.”

Lucy stood and moved to where Alex was still standing, only just inside the room. “You and my father are not alike, Alex. And I know that. I am well aware of what he does. The ‘protection’ rackets that are little more than an excuse to extort people. The murder of innocent aliens. Hell, the not so nice ends of almost anyone that opposes him for that matter. I’m not saying our family is perfect; I _am_ aware of what you do. But you also help a lot of people. And you’ve gone out of your way to keep me and Kara and everyone else safe for years. Despite being the baby in the family.”

“Hey!”

Lucy laughed softly. “You are. It’s adorable how you think you need to protect us all.”

Alex scowled but could feel a smile tugging at her lips and knew the scowl was completely ineffective. Lucy laughed again and reached up to ruffle her hair. With a squawk Alex backed away, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to settle it back down. “That was uncalled for.” She paused. “So what do you want to do?”

Lucy shrugged, moving back to Kara’s side. “I’m not going to distract him. Like I said, he deserves it. Just… don’t kill him? If at all possible?”

Alex nodded. “I will do my best. Both sides will be armed with non-lethal weapons as a first choice. There’s going to be casualties but we’ll try to minimize them.” She glanced at the clock. “I have to go. There’s still things I need to get done tonight.”

Both women rose to give her quick hugs.

“Do you need me for this, Alex?” Kara asked.

Alex shook her head immediately. “No. I want to keep your powers a secret as long as possible. J’onn will be with me and there will be plenty of others. I’ll be fine.”

Kara looked at her sternly. “ _Be careful_.”

Alex gave her big sister a cocky grin. “Always.”

“Alex.” Kara’s said warningly.

“Fine. I _promise_ I will be careful. I’ll let you know the outcome as soon as possible.”

“When’s the attack?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“ _Tomorrow_. Rao, Alex…”

“We can’t afford to wait, Kar. We have to move fast and try to nip this all in the bud.”

“And if you can’t?” Kara demanded.

“Cross that bridge when we come to it. But if I have to take out every other gang in this city to keep my family safe, I will.” Alex’s jaw clenched, voice icy.

Kara sighed but nodded. “I know you will. Be careful, little sis.”

Alex smiled slightly and hugged Kara again. “I will.” With a final nod at Lucy, Alex slipped out of the house the way she entered, making her way back to her motorcycle so she could get back to the DEO office and start coordinating weapon distribution.


	4. Chapter 4

Maggie waited tensely in her office to receive the message from Winn confirming that he had been able to hack the systems and set the trap. She tried to focus on work, both legal and otherwise, but the impending battle occupied most of her mind. Finally she gave up and left SMW’s headquarters at lunch, heading for the office she ran her less legal enterprises from. She settled into the chair in her private office and sighed. She really hoped this worked.

Danvers’ people had already been by that morning, discretely delivering crates of weapons for her men to use in the attack. Against her will, Maggie had been impressed by the weapons. The first crate had been accompanied by a handwritten note containing a brief explanation and directions for use, signed off with a simple A that Maggie knew had to stand for “Alex.” She couldn’t help but find the other woman charming despite their different approaches. Sighing, Maggie tugged over a copy of the strength assessment for Lane’s group. She had the numbers memorized but a review couldn’t hurt. And she also hoped it would keep her mind from dwelling on the still silent phone.

She had finally managed to lose herself in reviewing the strategy for the attack when her phone chirped and she jumped slightly. Rolling her eyes at herself, Maggie snagged her phone and unlocked it so she could read the message from Winn.

_Complete. Reservations for 7._

Short and to the point. But it also sent a wave of both relief and anticipation through her. There was no turning back now. Switching messages, she sent one of her own to Danvers, even knowing that Vasquez surely already had notified the other woman.

_Date tonight? 7 is looking good._

She grinned a little to herself. They hadn’t agreed to use any sort of code in their messages but Maggie couldn’t resist. Sure, the likelihood either hers or Danvers’ phone would be hacked was slim, not with Winn setting up Maggie’s encryption. And from his excited gushing earlier today, Vasquez was apparently almost as good. But it never hurt to be safe. Besides, she was curious to see how Alex would respond. A moment later her phone beeped with a response and she didn’t bother to stop the warm grin that spread across her face.

_I would never miss a date with you. 7 it is._

Idly she wondered if the first part was sincere or merely part of the act. She couldn’t deny that part of her wished it was sincere. Of course, the other part of her was insisting that getting involved with Alex Danvers was a terrible idea. But the risk was part of the thrill. And she suspected a relationship with Danvers would never get boring, unlike so many of hers in the past. Shaking off the thought, she set the phone aside and turned her attention to the logistics of getting her men in position before seven that night. Her own forces would come from the north while Alex’s came from the south. Everyone had a patch to wear on their sleeve so the other group didn’t shoot them. The pincer move was simple enough but, hopefully, would also be effective.

She would be there herself, naturally. James had protested and she had, finally, agreed to hang back. She knew it was logical; Lane’s men would surely focus on trying to take her out if she was visible, but she chafed at the restriction. Everything in her told her to lead from the front. James wouldn’t like it but Maggie intended to be as close to the front as she could get away with. She also would be armed with her own pistol in addition to one of the ones from the DEO. Sure, they were hoping to avoid the bloodbath but that was no reason to be stupid.

Once Lane and his men were subdued, everyone would be dumped on a DEO owned transport ship that was leaving the harbor that night. Maggie hadn’t liked that much either, the ability of the crew to be overwhelmed sitting ill with her. As had Alex’s cavalier dismissal of the risk. At least until Alex had informed her that all of the people who crewed the ships owned directly by the DEO were armed and also protected with shield devices. And also that the doors to the cargo hold were heavily reinforced. No one was getting off the ship easily.

Maggie rubbed her eyes, trying not to watch the clock. It was going to be a long day. Grabbing her gun and tucking it into her waistband, she decided to head down to the warehouse where the equipment was being staged for the night. Might as well get her hands dirty in the preparation since sitting in her office certainly wasn’t accomplishing anything.

* * *

 

Alex bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, waiting for the right time to move. Vasquez stood next to her, stoic but eyes alert. Behind her, her team waited, weapons ready. This was the forwardmost of the DEO teams and the ones that would head directly into the building where Lane and his lieutenants would be meeting in less than five minutes. Several more teams were scattered in an arc that half encircled the building. Those men would primarily be responsible for taking out what promised to be several guards surrounding the building given the concentration of high ranking members of Lane’s organization.

She was clad in a high tech, lightweight vest concealed under her leather jacket. J’onn had long since given up on keeping her from getting directly involved when she felt it necessary and she had spent her early years in the DEO operating one of the small task forces directly, responsible for protecting shipments and the occasional raid into other territories to “liberate” technology. She shifted her grip on her weapon slightly as she glanced at her watch. Only seconds remained before the signal should come.

J’onn himself was concealed right near the building, having shape shifted into one of Lane’s men that he had taken out earlier. He would be providing the signal when everyone was inside. The time moved at an agonizingly slow pace. Finally, three minutes past the intended go-time, she heard the light click from her earpiece that indicated everyone was inside. Quickly, she pressed the send button on her phone, sending the confirmation of the attack to Maggie, before tucking it away into a zippered pocket. Glancing at Vasquez, she nodded once before ducking out of their hiding place. Vasquez and then the rest of her men were on her heels.

Already she could hear shooting in the distance. Grinning darkly, Alex charged forward, gun ready. She barreled around a corner, startling two of Lane’s men who were standing guard. Barely pausing, Alex threw an elbow into one’s temple and shot the other point blank. Both dropped like stones and she kept moving. She knew one of her men would stop and tie the two goons up, readying them to be moved to their comfy cargo hold transport.

They rounded another corner and found themselves on the edge of a firefight raging around the building. She sensed Vasquez pull up next to her as they both began unloading their own weapons into the Lane goons standing between them and the building. Alex pulled back briefly and grabbed Vasquez. “I’m going to find a way inside! Cover me!”

Vasquez nodded and Alex dodged to the right, weapon ready and firing occasionally as she tried to clear a path to the door. They couldn’t afford to get too bogged down in this firefight and risk letting Lane and his lieutenants use it as cover to escape. Finally, they rounded the corner of the building and found a back door. Of course, the back door was also being covered by four Lane goons who had set up a makeshift barrier to provide cover as they exchanged shots with a mix of DEO and Sawyer people.

Alex frowned, studying the situation carefully. The barrier was unfortunately absorbing the non-lethal shots all too well. Exchanging a look with Vasquez, Alex holstered her alien gun and pulled out her regular pistol. She saw Vasquez do the same and hoped her men would follow suit upon hearing the gunfire shift. Ducking behind a dumpster, she leaned out and opened fire, watching splinters start to fly as the bullets from hers and Vasquez’s guns impacted. There was a faltering in the sound of gunfire as the Lane henchman looked for the source of the new attack and the DEO and Sawyer troops reacted to the addition of a different sort of gun on their own side.

Alex looked over and caught the eye of one of her own members. She nodded at the pistol as she dropped the magazine and reloaded. The woman nodded and Alex saw her switch weapons, nudging the person next to her as she did so. With a grim smile, Alex redirected her attention to the fight, ears catching the slowly rolling sound of non-lethal alien guns being switched out for very lethal traditional guns.

As the volley increased, the cover Lane’s men had made disintegrated. Once that happened, it was only minutes before all four were dead. Alex lurched to her feet and sprinted for the door, Vasquez hot on her heels and the others providing cover. Slamming the door open, Alex barreled straight into another goon just inside. They went down in a heap, Alex on top and she swiftly reared up to slam her fist into his face. While he was stunned, she coolly shot him between the eyes. Rising to her feet she glanced at Vasquez who was watching the room alertly.

“Let’s go.” Alex tapped her earpiece to activate it. “J’onn, Vas and I are inside. There’s a backdoor on the east side that should be clear.”

“Got it, Alex.”

With a nod at Vasquez, Alex began moving slowly further in. Carefully, they cleared the bottom floor. By the time they were finished, more DEO and Sawyer members had arrived. Alex didn’t see Maggie in the group and briefly spared a thought to hope she was ok. Finding nothing on the first floor, Alex redirected her steps to the stairs, followed by several others. Cautiously they moved up only to be met with a volley of gunfire as they cleared the top step. Alex dropped to the floor instantly, and felt Vasquez do the same. She rolled across the landing to a doorway and desperately hoped no one was behind it.

Kicking it open, Alex scrambled inside the blessedly empty room, an office by the looks of it. Leaning back out of the doorway, she began to return fire, joining the couple of DEO members that were doing so from the cover of the stairwell. Vasquez slithered into the room, spinning around on her knees and returning fire from the doorway as well, below Alex.

Unfortunately, they appeared to be at an impasse. Both sides had decent cover and no one was stupid enough to expose themselves for too long. Alex was running the options through her head when she caught sight of Sawyer slipping up the stairs. She frowned as she met Sawyer’s gaze. Maggie cut her eyes toward the room then raised an eyebrow questioningly at Alex. Alex shrugged, she had no idea how many men were inside. Reports indicated that Lane had four lieutenants and himself. So there _should_ be five men inside. But they didn’t know for sure.

Alex watched as Maggie frowned and peered around the corner during a brief lull before pulling back to the safety of the stairwell. Maggie looked over again and held up four fingers.

Alex frowned. That would mean someone wasn’t in the room. She shook her head firmly, trying to insist Maggie stay put. It didn’t work. With a cocky grin, Maggie abruptly dodged around the men at the top of the stairwell during the next lull, gun out and firing as she did so.

“Son of a _bitch_!” Alex cursed and sprinted after her, gun ready but silent to avoid hitting Maggie. She saw Maggie dodge to the left inside the doorway. As soon as she cleared the doorway to the room the enemy was in, Alex flung herself to the right. Rolling and coming to her feet already firing. Two men were not far in front of her, gaping in surprise. Two quick shots knocked them out and Alex spun to face the other side of the room. She found Maggie standing with a triumphant grin, two more men unconscious in front of her. Scowling, Alex started to move over but was interrupted by Vasquez bursting into the room.

Alex kept one eye on Maggie as she quickly gave orders to have the men tied up and readied for transport. “Any word on Lane?”

“Nothing. Seems he might have ghosted us. Left his men to do his dirty work.” Vasquez’s voice was disgusted and Alex exchanged grim looks with her. Handing over her alien gun, Alex looked around again for Maggie to berate the other woman. Vasquez cleared her throat. “Sawyer went that way, boss.”

Alex’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “Thanks, Vas.”

She stalked out of the room and down the hall, peering into doors as she passed. At the end of the hall, she finally found Maggie standing in what appeared to be a spacious office, probably Lane’s himself. Alex couldn’t help the feeling of relief that went through her as Maggie half-turned and smiled, apparently hearing her at the door. Alex moved slightly further into the room so she could see Maggie properly. Alex scanned Maggie, automatically running her hands over the other woman’s arms looking for injuries. “Are you okay?”

Maggie arched an eyebrow at her but didn’t pull away. “I’m fine, Danvers. Not even a scratch.”

After several more seconds of studying Maggie, confirming that there was no blood to be seen, Alex lifted her gaze to meet Maggie’s. Fixing the other woman with a stern glare, Alex stepped slightly closer. “That was stupid. You could have been hurt. Or _killed_.”

Maggie cocked her head slightly. “I was fine. I knew what I was doing.”

“Oh, really? And if there had been more men than you _thought_ there were? What then?”

“Gee, Danvers, I didn’t know you cared.”

“I don’t, I—” Alex grabbed Maggie by the arm and yanked her to one side. As she did so, Alex snatched the pistol out of Maggie’s holster, leveled it, and fired in one smooth motion. The sound of a ricochet and loud thud echoed through the room. Alex’s lips twisted into a snarl.

Maggie whirled, blinking in surprise. Sam Lane was standing barely twenty feet behind where she had been standing, staring at his hand in shock. On the ground nearby rested a pistol. Maggie shot an incredulous look at Alex who was still glowering at Lane.

Without changing expression, Alex fired again. The bullet slammed into Lane’s shoulder and he cried out in pain, grabbing at the wound with his opposite hand and staggering backward. Her face settling into impassivity, Alex stalked forward, Maggie’s pistol still trained on the now former gang boss.

She shoved Lane lightly, watching as he stumbled and fell to the floor then dropped into a crouch, ignoring the quiet footfalls as Maggie stepped up behind her. Alex studied him dispassionately for a moment, ignoring the sneer that he had fixed on his face at her approach. Finally she gestured to the wound he was still clutching and spoke, voice cold, “That was for my sisters.” Expression still bland, she rested the still warm barrel of the pistol against the side of his neck, causing him to flinch away.

The faintest hint of a smile curled her lips as she pressed the gun closer. “I promised Lucy I wouldn’t kill you if possible. But, if you or your goons ever come near my family, a gunshot wound to the shoulder will be the least of what I will do to you. Do you understand me?”

Maggie frowned slightly. _Lucy?_

Lane didn’t answer, continuing to sneer. Alex quirked an amused smile. Calmly, she moved the pistol from his neck to the uninjured shoulder and remarked conversationally, “You know, that collar bone of yours is going to take a long time to heal. You’re lucky I didn’t nick the artery or—” she nudged his hand and watched him try to jerk it away. “Yeah, or the nerve it seems. Now… on this side… I don’t think you’ll be so lucky. A paralyzed arm would be a real downer. So, I’ll ask again. Do you understand me?”

He glared but jerked his head in a nod.

Alex smirked and patted his cheek with the gun. “Glad we’re in agreement.” Rising to her feet, she easily dodged his attempt to kick her with a mocking laugh. Still smirking, she scanned the area for any weapons he could grab before moving further away. Still keeping one eye on Lane, she handed the pistol back to Maggie. “Thanks for the loan.”

“Not like you gave me a choice. Either you are the luckiest shot on the planet or a far better shot than anyone knew. Not many people that can shoot a gun out of someone else’s hand.”

Alex arched an eyebrow playfully. “What if I told you I was aiming for his leg?” Maggie’s mouth dropped open and Alex laughed. “I was aiming for the gun. I’ve been shooting since I was five.”

Maggie looked over to where Lane was still clutching his shoulder and glaring at them. “How did you know whether you’d hit the artery or nerves?”

Alex followed her gaze and pondered how much to say. Finally, she shrugged. “I have an MD. Never did a residency so I’m not exactly practicing but I learned a few things.”

Maggie looked over and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you had a PhD.”

Alex smiled faintly, still watching Lane. “That too.”

Maggie was silent for several seconds before finally asking, a hint of amused incredulity in her voice, “Just how many degrees do you _have_ , Danvers?”

“Just four.”

“Oh, of course. _Just_ four. That’s all.” Maggie’s voice was heavy with sarcasm.

Alex grinned a little and glanced over at her. “Jealous?”

Maggie turned toward her and raked her gaze up and down Alex pointedly before smirking up at her. “That was not exactly the word I had in mind, no.”

They both ignored Lane’s scoff. Alex dropped her voice so only Maggie could hear. “Well, I’m always up for playing doctor. You know… for the right person.”

Maggie grinned. “Is that so?”

Further flirting was cut off by the entrance of Vasquez and James. Alex glanced over at them both. “He needs a doctor. And the police.”

Vasquez took one look at the bleeding wound and laughed briefly. “Yes, ma’am. Nice shot.”

James looked between Lane and Alex. “Your work?”

Alex shrugged slightly, expression mostly impassive. “He had it coming.”

James nodded slowly, gaze settling on Maggie. “Of course. Maggie, we have some things to inventory but otherwise everything is clear.”

Maggie nodded. “Thanks, James. I’ll be down shortly.”

He nodded again and with another, slightly confused, look at Alex, left the room. Alex looked over at Vasquez. “Everything good?”

She nodded. “Lost a couple but nowhere near as many if it had just been us. The cops are on their way, everyone’s clearing out. The cargo is en route to the docks.”

Alex nodded. “Great. Leave him and let’s get out of here before the cops get here.”

Vasquez nodded and, grabbing Lane’s gun, left the room, leaving Alex and Maggie alone again except for Lane.

Alex looked over at Maggie once more then raised her head at the sound of sirens. “That’s our cue.” She stepped back over to Lane who sneered up at her. Smirking, Alex pulled her fist back and clocked his temple, knocking him out cold. Standing she nudged him with her toe, scowling.

She jumped slightly at the feel of a hand on the small of her back. Maggie was looking at her with concern. “Everything ok?”

Alex sighed and nodded. “It is now. Let’s go.”

Maggie nodded and moved away, allowing the subject to drop. The pair slipped out the back door and into the city as the police cars began to arrive in the front.

* * *

Maggie looked up in surprise as the door to her office burst open. Winn was standing there, practically vibrating with energy. Maggie frowned curiously. “Winn?”

“I did it!”

“Did what?”

“I hacked Lane’s phone!”

Maggie rose to her feet. “Perfect. What did you find?”

He moved further into the room, plopping his ubiquitous tablet onto the desk. “Only the next planned meeting time and location between him and Maxwell Lord.”

Maggie blinked at him in shock before dropping her gaze to the tablet. “Really?”

Winn nodded excitedly. “Yes, here. It took some deciphering, but with Vasquez’s expertise in codes and languages, we figured it out. Lane was smart. So is Lord. Their messages are in a code as well as encrypted.”

“Winn.” Maggie cut him off before he could begin to ramble too much. “The meeting. When is it?”

“In two days. Noon.”

Maggie nodded. “Do you have a location?”

“It’s a tiny diner on Fifth. Just outside Lord’s territory.”

Maggie let out a slow breath. “Perfect. Do we have anymore information on what Lord is up to? It’s been a full day since the attack. Has he found out that Lane is in custody?”

Winn shook his head. “Not that I can tell. The cops have kept that surprisingly—” He cut himself off at the smug look on Maggie’s face. “Or maybe not so surprisingly quiet.”

Maggie shrugged. “Sharon’s the Captain at the Precinct closest to Lane’s former headquarters.”

Winn raised his eyebrows in surprise. “And she was willing to talk to you? Much less _listen_ and _help_?”

“Ok, our break up wasn’t _that_ bad.”

“Says you. _I_ can still hear my ears ringing from her yelling.”

Maggie scowled and waved the words away. “Whatever. The point is, _yes_ she was willing to help by keeping the arrest quiet for a few days. She sees the value in keeping people like Lord in the dark a little longer.”

“Uh-huh. And what _value_ did she see, exactly?”

Maggie glared but finally relented. “Week long, fully paid vacation for her and her girlfriend.”

Winn snickered and Maggie shoved him lightly. “Yeah yeah, could’ve been worse.”

Winn nodded in agreement. “True. So anyway, no, as far as we can tell Lord doesn’t realize Lane himself was taken out. But that could change at any minute. He already sent a message this morning wanting verification.”

Maggie pursed her lips and nodded. “Send a response. Work with Vasquez if you need to to get it right. I’ll talk to Danvers about how we want to handle this. For now, just make it sound like Lane is alive and in hiding but still wants to meet.”

“Got it. Have fun talking to your girlfriend.”

“Shut it, Schott.”

Winn laughed at her. Maggie sighed. He had been teasing her about her feelings for Alex ever since the attack and hearing the recount from James. She knew he didn’t actually believe it but she couldn’t avoid just how close it was to the truth Maggie wanted. James, in contrast, had been dropping warnings about the hazards of getting involved with someone like Alex Danvers.

Maggie waited for Winn to leave before moving back to her chair. Dropping into it, she picked up her phone and sighed. She hadn’t actually heard from Alex since the raid and wasn’t entirely sure what their status was. But she couldn’t sit on this information. If Lord wasn’t backing down, that blew their plans out of the water. Flipping to Alex’s contact, she sent a quick message.

_Have an update. We need to meet._

There was no immediate response and Maggie turned back to her work, the logistics of properly expanding control into the territory formerly run by Lane were a nightmare. Sure, technically the gang was dead but now there were tiny groups popping up from the remnants that hadn’t been in the fight that night. Plus the sheer work involved in expanding operations into the area. It was hours later before her phone chirped with a response from Alex.

_Gotta be better than logistical work. Where and when?_

Maggie laughed softly. Alex must be dealing with the same issues she was.

_Wait until you hear the news. Tonight? 8?_

This time the response was almost immediate.

_Tonight’s a no-go. Tomorrow morning? Coffee?_

_Sounds good. Noonan’s off CatCo Plaza?_

It was more public than they had gone before. But there wasn’t much point in hiding that they were working together now. The news had already spread to Cadmus and Lord. Their public personas fortunately provided good protection as the outcry for a public assassination attempt, whether successful or not, would be large.

_See you there. 6 am._

Maggie winced at the time but sent an acknowledgment. The time was smart. Early enough to avoid the worst of the rush so it would be quieter but not so early as to arouse suspicion given both women were known for being in their offices—the legal ones—well before eight am each morning. Sighing, she set the phone aside and returned to her work.

* * *

 

Alex looked up as she heard the door to Noonan’s open. This early in the morning, the coffee shop was fairly quiet and she’d been able to snag a table in the corner, somewhat set apart from the others and where they would be able to see the comings and goings. It also had the benefit of not having a clear shot line from the door though she could still get a decent look at people shortly after they entered. The previous couple times the door opened had simply been random commuters but this time, it was Maggie. Alex watched as Maggie glanced around the interior. When their gazes met, Alex felt her lips twitch into an involuntary smile.

Maggie returned the smile as she moved to the counter to order before joining Alex at the table. As she settled into the booth next to Alex, sliding over so she could also see most of the restaurant, she murmured, “You always up this early, Danvers?”

Alex laughed softly and sipped her coffee. “Usually, yes. But I don’t often have such a nice view this early in the morning.” She pointedly perused Maggie’s tailored grey suit and licked her lips suggestively.

Maggie chuckled and winked. “Well, it would be difficult to match this, that’s true.”

Alex grinned into her coffee, nodding thanks in unison with Maggie as the waitress set Maggie’s own coffee down. Maggie took a sip and nearly moaned and Alex had to look away before she escalated this past flirting. The voice that insisted it was a bad idea to get involved with Maggie Sawyer had been becoming weaker and it was difficult to remember _why_ that was such a terrible idea. Especially when Maggie was making sounds like that and giving her mischievous looks over the rim of a coffee mug.

Turning back to Maggie, Alex found the other woman watching her with an amused smile. “Problem, Danvers?”

“Not at all. Just thought you might want a moment alone with your coffee love.”

Maggie grinned. “I dunno. Maybe you want to watch.”

Alex arched an eyebrow. “Nah. I prefer participating.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alex smiled at Maggie for a moment longer then cleared her throat, trying to shift into business mode. “You said we needed to meet.” She kept her voice low, gaze idly flicking around every so often to ensure no one else was close.

“I did.” Maggie paused, appearing to gather her thoughts. “Winn hacked Lane’s phone. They have a meeting set up for tomorrow at noon. Lord tried to contact Lane yesterday to see if he escaped the raid. I had Winn respond in the affirmative.” Her voice was as low as Alex’s, barely loud enough to carry to Alex’s ears much less any further.

Alex nodded thoughtfully, staring into space for a moment. “That can be useful. You think we can lure him into a trap? If he keeps the meeting with ‘Lane’…”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Winn, with Vasquez’s help, can continue to impersonate Lane via text. My contact at the police station is keeping Lane’s arrest quiet until the end of the week.”

“Mmm I wondered why it wasn’t on the news yet.”

Maggie just grinned a little and leaned back in her seat, sipping her coffee.

Alex rolled her eyes at the smug look but smiled slightly. “Nice one, Sawyer. You think it’ll work?”

Maggie shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s as good of an idea as any at the moment though. If we can take him out separately it would be much easier. Then his men will be leaderless. His lieutenants will no doubt step in but there will be infighting and that can be taken advantage of. The likelihood they’ll come after either of us any time soon will be slim.”

Alex nodded. “True. I agree. Send me the details so we can coordinate.” She fell silent for several seconds, sipping her coffee. She knew she should leave, the meeting was over after all. But she didn’t want to. Sighing and mentally throwing up her hands, she turned back to Maggie, voice more casual. “So, what does Maggie Sawyer normally do this early in the morning?”

Maggie looked slightly surprised then smiled after a moment. Alex saw a moment of hesitation in her gaze then, as if reaching a decision, it cleared and Maggie appeared to relax. “Usually a workout with a heavy bag before coffee and breakfast. And dragging Winn out of bed.”

Alex chuckled. “I take it he’s not a morning person?”

“Not so much,” Maggie answered wryly. “And of course, in typical little brother fashion he makes it as difficult as possible in the mornings.”

Alex cocked her head. “Little brother?”

“Mm, my aunt adopted him after his dad died. Much like she adopted me. One happy, somewhat criminal family.”

Alex laughed. She could tell there was more to the story about her aunt but she didn’t press for now. Maybe one day it would be her place to do so. She was surprised at how much she wanted that to be true.

“What about you? Since this is apparently a normal waking time for you as well?”

“Not too dissimilar, though I leave the waking up my sister part to her wife. A workout, some coffee, reviewing stock reports and the like. Try to get a jump on the day.”

“Just the one sibling?”

“Two, well four, really. Kara and Clark. And their spouses. But we’ve known each other so long Lois and Lucy are basically my sisters as well.”

Maggie nodded. “Big family.”

Alex shrugged slightly, not bothering to add that it _should_ be bigger. That “accidents” had prevented that. That she had a good idea who caused those “accidents.” “I guess.”

Maggie frowned as if sensing there was something Alex wasn’t telling her but she didn’t press. Alex wondered if Maggie, too, hoped that someday she would be in a position to push for details. The frown fled quickly and Alex was favored with a dimpled smile. Returning it, she settled more comfortably into her seat and the casual “getting to know you” conversation that she was well aware she should cut off but couldn’t bring herself to. With each passing moment it felt more and more like a coffee date rather than a business meeting but Alex didn’t care right then. She was fascinated by Maggie and the fact that Maggie already knew what she did, both sides of it, was comforting. She just wondered—and hoped—Maggie felt the same.


	5. Chapter 5

Maggie glanced up with a frown as the inner door to her office opened. She exchanged a brief, confused glance with James as one of her captains, and a distant cousin, slammed through the door. “What the hell, Casey?” Maggie jolted to her feet, frown deepening. She had left explicit orders not to be disturbed while she and James hammered out the details of a proposed formal alliance with Danvers.

Casey came to a stop in front of her desk, sweeping his floppy blond hair out of his face while he glared. Maggie arched an eyebrow waiting for him to speak, scowl in place. “The rumors are true, aren’t they?”

“What rumors?” Maggie flicked a glance at James. This was not what she was expecting and definitely not a good sign.

“That you’re allying with _her_.” If possible his glare became fiercer.

“With _who_? Tread carefully, Casey… you don’t make the decisions here…” Maggie warned softly. She saw James shift his weight and shook her head slightly at him.

Casey took a deep breath, visibly collecting himself. “Danvers. And the DEO.”

Maggie cocked her head slightly, considering whether to answer him. “Why do you ask?”

“Don’t play that! I just saw her outside!”

Maggie blinked in surprise. She had no idea Danvers was on her way. A shiver of almost fear ran up her spine. For Danvers to show up in her territory at her headquarters without prior warning was not a good sign. “What—?” She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence before the muzzle of a pistol was in her face. Instinctively she recoiled slightly but kept a tight grip on her emotions. “What the _hell_ , Casey?” she growled.

His glare was back, jaw clenched tightly. “I can’t let you do that.” As if he sensed James’ motion behind him, Casey snarled, “I wouldn’t do anything rash, Olsen. I can kill her before you can draw that gun of yours.”

Maggie narrowed her eyes. “So, what? You’re going to take me out? You really think you’ll get out of here alive?”

“I take you out and Olsen over there and I can take the gang over. We don’t all want to go down your route and become Danvers’ pets, Sawyer.” Casey moved around the desk, keeping the gun trained on Maggie’s head. “Or you can just draft one of your fancy documents right now and resign and name me the successor.”

“Why?” Maggie spat. “Because you’ve decided you know what’s best?”

“Because you’ve lost your way! We don’t ally with others! Especially not others that go against what we do! I joined you and Sofia because I thought you were doing something right! Not to see you throw it away by joining someone who merely sells to the highest bidder with no thought to who they’re exploiting! You’re deluded if you think Danvers will let you keep operating like we do. I’ve heard the stories. The DEO just wants cash and they don’t care how they get it. If protection doesn’t get her enough money she won’t let it happen.”

Maggie felt her own jaw clench at the mention of her deceased aunt’s name. “Because you know her so well. You really think that’s what I’m doing?”

His glare darkened. “I do. This handshake deal to take out Lane was one thing, Maggie. But an alliance is too far.”

The door slammed open again and Alex stalked in followed by one of Maggie’s soldiers that had been guarding the building. Maggie’s head whipped around automatically to look at the intruder, despite the gun pointed at her. She had barely opened her mouth to speak, however, when Danvers’ hand whipped up and the other woman fired a single shot. The glower on Alex’s face was so intense that for a brief moment Maggie felt like anger alone had propelled the bullet forward. Maggie grimaced as blood splashed the side of her face. _Lovely_. Sighing, she reached up to wipe it off, raising an eyebrow at Danvers, silently asking the other woman to explain herself.

“We have a problem.” Danvers’ words were clipped. Though her tone was flat, Maggie could see the anger flashing in her eyes.

“You think?” Maggie waved a hand at the dead man next to her.

Danvers shook her head. “Not that. Lord knows we’re on to him. I had the same thing happen. It’s Lord. Handshake deals won’t cut it anymore. And so…” Alex raised her gun again, this time pointing it straight at Maggie. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to either join forces completely or I’m going to have to make your men join mine… forcefully.”

Maggie sighed, resting her fingertips lightly on her desk. She really wasn’t appreciative of having a gun pointed at her head twice in ten minutes. She glanced over at James and the soldier, Billy, who both had drawn their guns and had them pointed at Alex. Maggie had to give the other woman credit, Alex didn’t seem fazed at all by having two weapons pointed at her. “Really, Danvers?”

Danvers shrugged slightly, gun steady and not sparing a glance for the two men. “Really. All in or you’re out… permanently.”

Maggie cocked her head, a curious smile tugging at her lips. “You’re outnumbered. You really think you’ll manage to kill me before they do?”

Danvers smirked slightly and Maggie felt the smile slip. That was not the expression of someone at any risk. Maggie’s eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what Danvers had up her sleeve. “Am I?”

Maggie couldn’t entirely keep the expression of surprise off her face as the person who looked like Billy suddenly shifted his stance, shapeshifting in the same move. In his place, a black man Maggie recognized as Alex’s second-in-command stood, gun now pointed at James. A loud crash came, causing Maggie and James to flinch. Danvers and her second didn’t move a muscle, still keeping their composure even as a blur of motion resolved itself into a tall blonde woman on Alex’s other side. Clad in a solid black jumpsuit, muscular arms crossed over her chest, Maggie had to admit she cut an impressive figure.

 _Two aliens. I’m going to kill Winn for not finding this information_. Externally, she smiled ruefully, “I see. I’m not going to lie, Danvers, I didn’t expect you to have aliens at your beck and call.”

Danvers’ smirk broadened. “I know.” She tilted her head slightly toward the blonde. “My sister, Kara.” Tilting her head the other way, to indicate the black man, she continued, “Our father, J’onn.”

“Do you always bring family to a negotiation?”

Alex raised one shoulder eloquently. “If it works. Now, you haven’t answered me, Maggie. In or out?”

Maggie huffed a laugh. “You know, you could have just asked nicely.” Alex arched an eyebrow questioningly. Maggie waved a hand at the papers in front of her, pretending not to be affected by the slight tensing of the three people in front of her. “I was going to propose the same thing. In fact, Winn was supposed to have already sent you a meeting request.”

Alex narrowed her eyes as if evaluating the truth of Maggie’s words. After a few seconds of dead silence, J’onn abruptly spoke, causing both Maggie and James’ gazes to swing to him though Maggie noted Alex and Kara’s didn’t. “She’s telling the truth.”

Maggie frowned. “What the hell? How do you know that?”

He just smiled blandly at her without answering, subsiding back into silence. Maggie huffed in annoyance and looked back at Danvers. Danvers waited a moment then abruptly smiled, dropping the pistol and sliding it into the holster at her waist. “Ok, then. Wow me, Sawyer.”

Maggie rolled her eyes and waved off James as J’onn also lowered his weapon and the three DEO members all relaxed noticeably. “James, go get someone to clean this up.” Dropping back into her chair, Maggie snagged the papers with her proposal and spun them around, shoving it to the other side of the desk. “Have a look for yourself. I assume you learned to read earning those fancy degrees.” She couldn’t entirely keep the snarky tone out of her voice.

Danvers’ smile turned into a clearly amused grin as she calmly took a seat in the guest chair in front of Maggie’s desk. Snagging the papers from the desk, she glanced through the proposal, handing each sheet to J’onn as she finished. Maggie studied the trio as she waited. Kara had shifted so she could see Maggie and the door, gaze flicking alertly between the two. Danvers appeared almost completely relaxed though Maggie wouldn’t want to bank on that. She could see the way the other woman’s gaze flickered to Maggie and Kara just a little too often to be anything but a general wariness. And Maggie noted she kept both booted feet planted solidly on the ground, ready to bolt to her feet at a moment’s notice. J’onn appeared engrossed by the documents but given he could shapeshift and apparently somehow read minds, Maggie wasn’t betting on his complacency also.

Finally, J’onn handed the last sheet back with a nod to Danvers who glanced sidelong at Kara. “Hey, Kar? Can you get Lucy?”

The blonde flashed a brilliant smile and nodded, vanishing before Maggie could say anything to stop her. Not that it probably would have mattered. Scowling slightly, Maggie asked, “Who’s Lucy?” She suspected Alex meant the older Danvers’ wife. Except… everything she had indicated that she had nothing to do with the DEO. But then… everything also indicated Kara Danvers had nothing to do with the DEO and Maggie had seen her at Alex’s side more than once now.

Alex just grinned without answering, setting the papers back down on the desk. Before Maggie could ask again, there was a blur of movement and Kara was back with a much shorter woman in tow. She gently placed the newcomer down, smiling affectionately. Which appeared to have no effect, earning her a grumble and a pointedly straightened suit jacket. Maggie arched an eyebrow, definitely recognizing Lucy Lane from the gala, though admittedly the other woman had kept her distance from Alex then.

“What the hell, Kara?”

Kara shrugged slightly. “Alex told me to come get you.”

The newcomer rounded on Danvers who sighed. “I didn’t tell you to _kidnap_ her, Kara.”

Kara shrugged again, expression hardening. “It was important to be in a hurry.”

Danvers rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to die in the five seconds it would have taken you to explain to Lucy before bringing her back. I _am_ armed and I have J’onn.”

Maggie watched interestedly as Kara crossed her arms and glared at her sister mutinously. “If you think I’m going to just leave you alone with someone we barely know after earlier—”

Danvers sighed. “I wasn’t _alone_! I had J’onn!” Kara’s glare didn’t let up and Danvers sighed again. “Fine, fine.”

The new woman, Lucy, was looking between the two with a frown. “What happened earlier? And why wasn’t I told?”

Danvers waved a hand. “Nothing. It was fine.”

“It wasn’t nothing, Alex! Someone tried to kill you!” Kara continued to glare, somehow seeming to loom despite not having moved.

Alex huffed just as Lucy rounded on her. “What the hell, Alex!”

“I’m _fine_. I can take care of myself you know.”

“That is not the point.”

Alex crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair and glaring at the other two. “How about we discuss this later and you do your lawyer thing instead?”

Maggie raised an eyebrow, settling more comfortably into her own chair.

Lucy gave Alex a look that clearly said the discussion wasn’t over but turned to face Maggie. “So, you must be Sawyer. Why am I here?”

Maggie smiled slightly. “I have no idea. I don’t even know who you are.” She shot a pointed look at Danvers who had the audacity to simply grin smugly back.

“Sawyer, I’d like to introduce you to Lucy Lane. My sister-in-law and lawyer.”

“Lane? As in—?” Maggie suspected but… would the sister of the head of the DEO really marry the daughter of Sam Lane?

“ _Yes_ , as in that Lane. The one in prison.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “I swear, Alex, if you had Kara bring me here to get involved in one of your schemes…”

 _Oh. I guess the sister of the head of the DEO_ would _marry the daughter of Sam Lane… good grief what a mess that must be._

Alex sat upright suddenly. “No. Not at all. I need you to look over a contract for me.”

Lucy blinked, clearly surprised. “Oh.” She exchanged looks with Kara, who gave her a lopsided smile, before looking back at Maggie. “I presume you are the other party to this contract?”

Maggie nodded slightly. “That would be me.” She straightened the stack of papers and handed them to Lucy. “I won’t profess to be a lawyer but I think I hit the major points well enough.”

Lucy frowned slightly, clearly unimpressed, as she took the stack of papers and settled into the second guest chair next to Danvers. The room lapsed into silence as Lucy read. Maggie studied her guests quietly as they waited. Kara had resumed her watchful stance but Maggie noted how her gaze softened just a bit every time it landed on Lucy. For her part, Lucy appeared completely unconcerned about any possible danger, even given the dead guy on the floor which she had barely glanced at. But then, Maggie figured she _would_ be pretty collected if she was the daughter of Sam Lane. Danvers was mostly watching Lucy, head cocked slightly. Every so often she met Maggie’s gaze and the faintest smile would appear on her lips.

Everyone’s gaze except Lucy’s swung to the door as it opened, revealing James and two others. Maggie waved them in. “Get this out of here, would you?” The two nodded, quickly grabbing Casey’s body and hurrying back out of the office. James took up his spot at Maggie’s right shoulder once the door was shut. Maggie studied him out of the corner of her eye, seeing the lines of tension in his body. Leaning over, she murmured, “Relax would you?”

Kara’s gaze immediately locked on hers, a slight smile tugging at the blonde’s lips for a moment before she resumed her surveillance. _Good hearing… what the hell is she?_ Maggie mused.

Glancing at James again, she rolled her eyes when she noticed he hadn’t relaxed a bit. He met her gaze briefly, lips pressed into a thin line. Clearly he wasn’t willing to move past people pulling guns on Maggie as fast as Maggie herself was. Sighing soundlessly, Maggie turned her attention back to the DEO people. There was no point in discussing it with James now. She would wait until they were alone again.

After several more minutes, Lucy dropped the last paper back on the desk and raised her eyes, studying Maggie contemplatively for a moment. Maggie stared blandly back, waiting for the other woman to speak.

Finally, Lucy did so, her voice cool and collected. “So, you’re proposing a full unification of the two groups, DEO and Sawyers. Free travel between the territories though members of each group should be appropriately marked. You and Alex will share leadership and as members of the opposing gangs are ousted, specifically denoted as members of the Lord Gang and Cadmus, territory will be split evenly between the Sawyers and DEO, generally keeping to a geographical split. The Sawyers will take the northern territories, DEO the south. Profits from any raids to be split 50/50. Agreement to end when Cadmus is defeated.”

Maggie nodded slightly, eyeing the other woman warily. She had a feeling Lucy didn’t completely agree with the terms but Maggie would be damned if she agreed to anything but equals.

Lucy nodded thoughtfully. “Also caveats that both groups agree to let the other run their territory as they see fit. No interference with specific schemes or business unless specifically requested by the other person. Members of both groups have free access to the other’s territory but must agree not to interfere or cause trouble. If such trouble or interference occurs, the owner of the territory has full rein to determine the appropriate punishments excluding execution, which can only occur with permission of the owning leader.”

Maggie nodded again. She wondered if Lucy was reciting this summary for her own benefit or Danvers’. Except Danvers had also read the documents and Maggie would be shocked if the other woman didn’t understand it all perfectly.

“Hmm… most of it, yes, we can agree to.”

Maggie raised a brow in surprise. She expected Lucy to have to confer with Danvers, not begin making decisions. A quick glance at Danvers showed a bland expression, the other woman leaning comfortably back in her chair, fingers steepled and watching Lucy.

“But this…” Lucy flipped a few pages. “I propose a broader definition of opposing gangs. An exclusion rather than an inclusion. As the others are weakened, subordinates with delusions of grandeur will take their place. You don’t want to be in a position where you or Alex cannot command people to resist those upstarts. Further, the definition of ‘when Cadmus is defeated’ is far too vague. What exactly does this mean? When Lillian is killed? When all the upper echelons are taken out?”

Lucy kept talking, not even giving Maggie a chance to respond. “Instead I propose an explicit definition, as agreed upon by you and Alex. I would recommend the definition to be when Lillian and her lieutenants are killed or in custody. This should be easy enough to determine once you have access to her facilities and files. A limitation I would recommend is that ‘lieutenants’ is limited to those lieutenants active at the time of Lillian’s ouster. No sudden upstarts claiming to move into the position once a senior officer is removed.”

“I also propose further delineation of what exactly is meant by a full unification and joint leadership. Specifically, what sorts of decisions, if any, _must_ be made jointly and which can be made individually. Also, disclosure requirements. A joint endeavor will not function properly without some minimal level of disclosure required by both parties.” She paused then smirked slightly. “Normally, I would also recommend some agreement not to sleep with the other party but I think that would be protested.”

“Lucy!” Danvers’ voice was outraged as she suddenly sat upright, glaring at the lawyer.

Maggie struggled to keep her expression straight but she could feel the blush creeping up her neck.

Lucy ignored Danvers’ outrage and simply looked smug. Maggie could see Kara struggling not to laugh in the background. “Anyway, I would also recommend adding specifications as to how to amend the deal in the future. In writing signed by both parties is usually preferred,” Lucy said. She sat back and waited for comment, still smirking slightly.

Maggie nodded thoughtfully, trying to ignore the blush and focusing on Lucy’s other recommendations. After a moment she looked over at Danvers, waiting for the other woman to stop glaring at Lucy. “What do you think, Danvers?”

“I think Lucy’s a dead woman,” she huffed. Lucy ignored her, smirk broadening. Rolling her eyes, Danvers turned to Maggie. “I agree with Lucy’s recommendations. Agreement to end when Lillian’s lieutenants, as in place upon Lillian’s death or imprisonment, are defeated, either by death or imprisonment themselves. Minimal disclosure is wise but, no offense, I’m not giving you full access to my systems. Nor,” she raised a hand to forestall Maggie’s comment, “would I expect you to do so either. I’m sure we can determine a level of disclosure that will allow us to proceed with our goals.”

Maggie considered Lucy and Alex’s words for several moments before glancing at James. He shrugged slightly at her, indicating he had nothing to add at the moment, and she turned back to her guests. “Agreed. I’ll confer with my people and I presume you’ll do the same. Shall we meet again this time tomorrow to finalize the agreement?”

Danvers exchanged a brief look with J’onn before nodding. “That works for us, yes.” Rising to her feet, she smirked down at Maggie. “Mind if I talk to you in private for a moment?”

Maggie arched an eyebrow but nodded. “Sure. James, escort the others to the waiting area?” She was under no illusions that James would be able to stop either alien should they decide to do otherwise but she was pretty confident they weren’t going to cause trouble.

* * *

 

Once the others had left and the door shut quietly behind them, Alex moved around the desk on the opposite side from where Casey had died and leaned one hip against it. She smiled in amusement down at Maggie who turned in her chair and leaned back, arms crossed. “So, Danvers. Quite a dramatic entrance you had there.”

Danvers chuckled softly. “Well, he did have a gun to your head.”

“I was handling it.”

Alex shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Perhaps?” Maggie let a little bit of outrage seep into her voice.

“I’m so sorry I interrupted your pointless argument with the armed guy,” Alex drawled insincerely.

Maggie cocked her head. “Actually, he was my cousin.”

The smile fled Alex’s face immediately and she straightened. “Oh.” She blinked, clearly at a loss. “I— uh, I’ll just—”

Maggie laughed and waved a hand. “Don’t sweat it, Danvers. Though, the look on your face… We weren’t close and Casey was always a bit of an ass. And given he was planning to shoot me and take over… I can’t say I’m terribly upset he’s gone.”

Alex narrowed her eyes, leaning her hip against the desk once more. “That would have ended just as poorly for him. The only downside would be that you would already be dead.”

Maggie raised both eyebrows then favored Alex with a sexy smile. “The only downside huh? Are you saying you’d have missed me, Danvers?”

Alex pushed off the desk and moved closer, nudging Maggie’s knees apart so she could stand between them and look down at her. Maggie grinned up at Danvers, settling comfortably back and resting her hands on Alex’s hips. Alex smirked down at her for a moment before bracing her hands on the back of Maggie’s chair and leaning down to brush her lips across Maggie’s ear. “I’m not saying that at all.” Maggie made an outraged noise as Alex straightened, laughing down at her. “After all, it would have been easier to just take him out. Though, the visuals would have been sorely lacking had that happened.”

Maggie narrowed her eyes. “You’re an ass, Danvers.”

Alex laughed and nodded. “I’ve been told.”

“But, I suppose if that’s what you really think… I won’t stop you from leaving. I’m sure I can find someone better. That Lucy chick is pretty hot after all. I don’t suppose she’s single?”

The laughter fled and Alex frowned down at Maggie. “Sister-in-law, remember? She’s married to Kara actually.”

Maggie smirked, not backing down. “I don’t suppose you know if they’re interested in a threesome?”

Alex growled suddenly before surging forward, hands braced on the chair once more as she captured Maggie’s lips in a searing kiss. Maggie smirked into the kiss, pulling Alex closer by her hips. Alex pulled away after a few moments murmuring with a wicked grin, “There’s no one better than me.”

Maggie kept her smirk firmly in place. “I don’t know about that, Danvers. Hot. Lawyer. Married, which is a shame, but like I said—”

She didn’t get a chance to complete the sentence before Alex was kissing her again. Maggie tried to pull the taller woman closer but Alex kept herself arched away, hands braced on the chair and touching Maggie nowhere except their lips, Maggie’s hands, and where Maggie’s thighs were pressed into the sides of Alex’s legs. Alex pulled away slightly, nipping at Maggie’s lower lip. Maggie couldn’t completely suppress the small gasp at the action and Danvers smirked at her, eyes dancing.

Maggie narrowed her eyes. “Jealous, Danvers?”

Alex scoffed, straightening. “Of course not.” She paused then grinned cockily. “After all, why should I be jealous when I know I’m the best?”

Maggie laughed. “And the youngest if that exchange earlier is anything to go by.”

Alex scowled and waved a hand dismissively. “They’ve always been like that.”

She made no effort to move away so Maggie left her hands on the taller woman’s waist, occasionally rubbing an absent circle with her thumb. “Aw, big bad mob boss has concerned big siblings.” Alex huffed and started to back away. Maggie tightened her hands slightly, just enough to keep Alex from moving away at the moment but not enough to stop her if she wanted to break free. “Hey, whoa. I’m sorry.”

Alex stopped moving and looked down, lips pursed. Finally she half smiled. “No, you’re not but thanks for saying it.”

Maggie chuckled and pulled Alex closer again, enjoying the moment. Sure they’d been flirting before but this was the first time it had escalated past that and she wanted to keep the feeling going as long as possible, just in case Danvers decided to back off rather than continue moving forward. She looked up at Alex who was gazing at her with a look that, for just a moment, seemed tender rather than cocky. Maggie blinked in surprise and when her eyes opened again the smug, cocky Alex was back, smirking down at her.

“You know, this position is really quite perfect.”

Maggie chuckled. “Hmm, I have no idea what you mean, Danvers.”

“Oh, you don’t hm?” Alex grinned, weaving one hand loosely into Maggie’s hair, tilting Maggie’s head back as she bent over for another kiss. Holding Maggie’s head in place with the gentle grip, Alex moved her lips surely over the other woman’s before lightly trailing them up Maggie’s jaw to her ear. Quietly she murmured, lips brushing against Maggie’s skin with every word. “Are you absolutely sure you have no idea?”

Maggie groaned softly, fingers tightening on Alex’s hips. “Maybe I have an idea or two…”

“Mm… only one or two?” Alex tugged gently at Maggie’s earlobe with her teeth before moving back for another deep kiss.

After several moments, Maggie reluctantly pushed at Alex’s hips. “Danvers.”

Alex immediately stopped and pulled back, loosening her grip on Maggie’s hair. “Everything ok?”

“You mean besides almost being killed by my cousin and you coming in here threatening me with a gun then springing surprise aliens and lawyers on me?” Maggie’s voice was dry, amused rather than annoyed.

Alex raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly. “Yeah, besides all that.”

Maggie chuckled. “Everything’s fine. But your family is waiting and we both do need to take care of this mutiny thing before it grows.”

Alex sighed but nodded, moving back, sliding her hand free of Maggie’s hair. Maggie dropped her hands and Alex resumed leaning against the desk, though closer than before. “Well, like I said, at least on my side it seems to at least partially be Lord’s doing. Found those people who didn’t like the idea that we were leaving our traditional neutrality and joining with you and convinced them they could take me out and keep the gang how it was.” Alex scoffed. “Not that it would be anything like it is without me. Idiots don’t even realize I make or improve half the stuff we sell.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow at that tidbit. Sure she knew Alex had a PhD and MD, but she hadn’t realized Alex was quite that hands on.

Alex caught the expression and smirked. “Didn’t know that part, did you, Sawyer?”

Maggie twisted her lips ruefully at being read so easily but shook her head. “Can’t say I did. We knew you must have brilliant scientists working with you, obviously. But no, identities have been hard to come by.”

Alex inclined her head slightly. “That’s the way we like it, yes. But I’m one of them.”

Maggie nodded thoughtfully. “So not everyone approves of leaving the neutral position, huh?”

Alex shrugged. “Apparently not. They’ll either come around, leave, or be eliminated. What about here? I take it not everyone is thrilled at the idea of teaming up with us ‘alien exploiters.’”

Maggie scoffed. “You could say that. Most have adopted a wait and see attitude. But apparently some are certain they know the details. Did you know that I was agreeing to be the DEO’s pets?”

Alex grinned slowly, eyes burning into Maggie. “Is that so? I can’t say I’d be opposed.” Maggie rolled her eyes and swatted at Alex’s hip. The other woman chuckled, voice deepening, “Are you saying you don’t want to be my pet, Sawyer?” Alex’s gaze was dark and heavy as she watched Maggie.

Maggie leaned back, allowing a mocking smile to curl her lips. “Who said I would be the pet, Danvers? I happen to think you’d look quite good in a collar.”

They locked gazes for a long moment before Alex let out a soft chuckle. “Touché. How about we shelve that for later, hm?”

Maggie grinned but nodded. “At any rate, yes, apparently Casey, and probably others, didn’t much appreciate the idea of teaming up with a group that exploits aliens as they see it. He was positive I was selling out.”

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Did he ever meet you? For a family member he seems a bit obtuse.”

“Yes, well. I did say he was a _distant_ cousin.”

Alex sobered and cocked her head, studying Maggie in silence for a long moment. Maggie frowned up at her in confusion at the sudden shift. “And what do you think?” Alex asked abruptly.

“About?”

“The DEO. Me. Take your pick.”

Maggie smiled and batted her eyelashes. “I think you know what I think about you.” Alex rolled her eyes but smiled. Maggie chuckled and continued, “I think… I think that yes, in some ways you and the DEO do exploit aliens. I also think there is far more to you and your group than meets the eye and that you aren’t as ‘neutral’ on aliens as you pretend to be. Something tells me, the situation isn’t as simple as my people think.”

Alex nodded slowly, looking away, but remained silent.

After several seconds of silence, Maggie prodded gently, “Tell me about J’onn and Kara. You can’t be completely anti-alien and claim aliens as family. What are they?”

Alex took a deep breath and remained silent for several minutes. Maggie’s lips tightened and she nodded sharply, all humor from earlier gone. _Of course. Why would I think she might actually tell me something? It’s not like this is going to be any sort of actual relationship._ She had just resolved to stand and escort Alex out when the other woman began talking.

“I’ve known Kara since I was born. Her parents and mine were the best of friends. The House of El. Kryptonians that escaped their planet when the neighboring planet in the system invaded. Her grandparents met mine, became friends. When I was three everyone in the family except Kara and Kal were killed in an ‘accident.’ My family adopted them both. Kara is ten years older than me. Kal—Clark—is four.

J’onn is a Green Martian. Last of his kind so far as we know. He met my father long ago; they saved each other’s lives. I don’t actually know the whole story. Suffice to say he joined my dad and Jor-El and what became the DEO. He helped raise Kara, Kal, and I and then took over completely when all the parents were dead.” Alex stopped talking and shrugged, gaze fixed on her toes.

Maggie stood slowly and touched Alex’s hand lightly. The other woman didn’t look up but she flipped her hand around to grip Maggie’s loosely.

After several more seconds, Alex looked up with a forced smile. “Anyway. They’ve been my family as long as I can remember. But even J’onn does not agree with taking a completely pro-alien stance.” She shrugged slightly. “I can’t profess to know all of his history, and what I do know isn’t mine to share, but he has seen enough, and the Danvers and El families have seen enough, to know just how dangerous it can be to assume all aliens are good or evil.”

Maggie nodded slowly. She wanted to know more, to truly discuss the reasons with Alex, but she could tell the other woman was done talking about it for now. “Right. Well, that does explain some things.” She waited until Alex looked up and met her gaze before smiling softly. “Like I said, more complex than my people realize.” She sighed, glancing at the clock. “You should probably get back to your people and I need to get moving on figuring out who else thinks like Casey. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Alex nodded, smiling but with only a trace of her normal cocky demeanor. “Tomorrow.” She pressed an almost chaste kiss to Maggie’s lips before moving toward the door. Once there she paused and glanced back at Maggie, her normal attitude pulled back into place though Maggie could see the slight gentleness in her eyes. “Just remember, there’s no one better than me. Even my pest of a sister-in-law.” With a final wink, Alex slipped out the door.

Maggie laughed to herself, dropping back into her chair. She reached over to her intercom and summoned her assistant. As soon as he appeared in the doorway, Maggie waved her hand to the bloodstain on the floor. “Tristan, get someone in here to clean this up ASAP. I’ll be in the workshop with Winn.”

Tristan nodded and vanished. Collecting her paperwork and tablet, Maggie stood and left the office herself, heading for Winn’s lab, intent on having him help her get a handle on this situation.


	6. Chapter 6

Alex sighed as she studied the reports. Since the initial plan to trap Lord had gone belly-up when he realized that the texts weren’t coming from Lane, things had stalled. Sure, they had the alliance formally in place between her and Maggie but she knew Lord wasn’t going to back down. And now Cadmus was probing. She grimaced. Maggie’s speculation had apparently been accurate. From what her men had been able to determine, escalating with Lane had pushed Cadmus into testing their defenses. Unfortunately, succeeding at repelling the testing skirmishes had convinced Lillian that the DEO and Sawyer together were a threat. Which made Cadmus a threat they were going to have to deal with sooner rather than later.

But they wanted to get Lord first. Dropping her eyes to her reports again, Alex tiredly perused the list of incoming shipments. She blinked at one then a slow smile spread across her face. Tapping the entry, she pulled up the full data. _Perfect._ One of the next shipments due was a cache of very advanced alien tech. Tech she knew Max would _kill_ to get his hands on. His Lord Technologies was lagging further behind El Mayarah every quarter and his own tech smuggling business was lagging even further behind the DEO than LordTech was behind El Mayarah. Alex’s stranglehold on both quadrants was slowly choking the life out of his companies. But not fast enough. And the longer it went on, the more desperate he became.

She had suspected that was the impetus behind his willingness to unite with Lane. Like her, Lord didn’t have a huge amount of muscle in his gang, relying on his technology to act as an equalizer. Except her tech was better and his “equalizing” force wasn’t so equal anymore.

Reaching to the side, Alex tapped an intercom. “Angela, can you please ask J’onn to come see me?”

Her assistant chirped a perky “yes!” causing Alex to roll her eyes. Angela was a good assistant but far too chipper for the normally icy Alex. Alex returned to studying the entry, running the chances of Lord attempting to take it through her mind. It was only minutes later when there was a brief knock on her door before J’onn was stepping inside her office.

Alex flashed him a quick smile as he settled into the chair on the other side of her desk. “What can I do for you, Alex?”

She flipped the tablet around and shoved it across the desk at him. His brow furrowed as he dropped his gaze to the tablet. “This shipment is due tomorrow,” she stated.

He looked up curiously. “Yes.”

She pursed her lips before continuing. “How badly do you think Lord wants it?”

His countenance cleared as he understood her train of thought. “A trap.”

She nodded, tapping the desktop next to the tablet. “That shipment could be a huge windfall for him. Potentially allow him to start competing again. On both sides.”

J’onn nodded. “We’ll have to be careful how it leaks. And be ready to move fast. If he senses a trap it’ll be over.”

“Agreed. Vasquez can handle it. She knows how to leak this just right.”

“I agree.” He cocked his head slightly. “You’ll tell Ms. Sawyer?”

Alex felt a slight blush creep up her neck. “Uh, of course. We’re working together after all.”

J’onn smiled knowingly. “Of course.”

Alex grimaced. She should’ve known she wouldn’t be able to hide this from him. She wasn’t even sure if it was a relationship or not. But she knew she wanted it to be.

She refocused as J’onn rose from his seat. “I’ll send the details to Vasquez.”

Alex nodded with a smile. “Thanks, J’onn.”

He returned the smile and moved for the door. Before exiting he paused and turned back to her. She gave him a curious look and his smiled widened. “Falling for someone looks good on you, Alex.”

She gaped at him but he was out the door before she could collect her thoughts enough to respond. Grumbling to herself, she pulled out her phone. She glanced down at her text messages with Maggie and couldn’t help smiling. They’d been innocuous, simple messages that had nothing to do with work that the pair had been exchanging since the kiss, well, kisses, in Maggie’s office. Pulling up the message thread, Alex actually felt bad about interrupting the stream with something like this. But it was necessary.

_Have a plan for our favorite tech midget. Meet tonight?_

The response was almost immediate. _My place or yours?_

Alex blinked. The most personal location either of them had visited was when she stormed into Maggie’s personal office two days before. And that wasn’t her personal home but rather at the headquarters for the Sawyer Gang. Eventually she managed to respond. _Mine._ She included the address to the DEO headquarters. It was risky but they _were_ allies after all. And she wasn’t entirely sure whether to invite Maggie to her home just yet.

_See you later._

Alex smiled at the message before forcing her attention to return to her reports. She needed to get some actual work done before she could leave for the day to meet Maggie. And discuss the situation with Lord.

* * *

 

Alex was staring absently out the window in her DEO office, sipping a glass of scotch when the door opened behind her. She watched via the reflection as Maggie entered and closed the door behind her. Smiling, Alex continued to watch as Maggie noticed the second glass of scotch waiting on the desk. Their eyes met in the reflection and their gazes held as Maggie picked up the scotch and made her way toward Alex. Reaching her, Maggie slipped her free hand lightly over the small of Alex’s back before wrapping her arm around Alex’s waist.

“This ok?” she murmured, pressing into Alex’s side lightly.

Alex finally looked away from the window and over at Maggie. Shifting her scotch to her other hand, she wrapped her arm around Maggie’s shoulders, twisting slightly and pulling Maggie closer so they were in more of a hug. “Perfect.”

Maggie grinned up at her and Alex leaned down the short distance to capture her lips in a gentle kiss. After a long moment, Maggie pulled away, smiling sweetly. “I have to say, not quite the welcome I expected.”

Alex stiffened slightly wondering if Maggie wasn’t actually on the same page and didn’t want the tender side of an actual relationship. Maybe Maggie just wanted the challenge and aggressiveness that they’d started this whole thing with. She started to pull away.

Maggie’s arm tightened around her immediately and a concerned frown appeared. “Hey, whoa. Where are you going?”

“I uh—”

“Alex. I didn’t say I didn’t like it. Ok?”

Alex let out a long breath and relaxed again. “Yeah, ok. Good. I’m glad.”

Maggie cocked her head. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, of course.” Maggie raised an eyebrow and Alex shrugged slightly. “Our… relationship… hasn’t exactly been this sort of interacting until now. I wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted to keep it the other way.”

Maggie’s frown deepened and she sounded almost fierce as she responded. “Yes, I enjoy that sort of interaction. I think that much is obvious. But this,” she tightened the arm wrapped around Alex pointedly, “this is also something I want. Or I wouldn’t participate. Got it?”

Alex smiled fondly. “Got it.” Playfully she kissed the tip of Maggie’s nose, laughing as the other woman scrunched her face.

Maggie chuckled after a moment and Alex could feel the vibrations run through her body. Still smiling, Maggie shifted so that they were side by side again and took a sip of the scotch. “So, what’s up with Lord?”

“Ah, yes. I think J’onn and I have a solution to him.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

Alex gazed absently out into the city again as she continued. “Tomorrow El Mayarah is due to receive a shipment of highly advanced alien technology. We’re planning to use it to develop a better delivery system for antibiotics and other drugs to alien systems for use in hospitals. Anyway, Lord would kill to get his hands on it. Tech like that could really catapult his business forward, on both sides of the law.”

“You want to set another trap for him,” Maggie breathed.

Alex nodded, looking back at Maggie. She pulled away slightly and turned so she was facing Maggie fully, letting her hand slide from Maggie’s shoulder to the back of her neck, thumb caressing absently. “Yes. Vasquez can leak it in such a way that he thinks his own idiots acquired the information. We can set it so it appears that someone managed to take it before it makes landfall and wants to sell it to him. He’ll want to inspect it.”

Maggie nodded, scratching lightly at Alex’s side in what Alex was sure was an unconscious move. “And when he shows up… trap sprung.”

“Exactly.”

“I like it.” Maggie smiled up at Alex and leaned in to kiss her jaw lightly. “It’s brilliant.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Alex asked with just a trace of her usual cockiness.

Maggie laughed softly and set her glass down on the nearby credenza. Gently, she took Alex’s glass and did the same before sliding her now free hand up Alex’s arm to the back of her neck, twisting lightly in Alex’s hair. “It is. Like you.”

Alex smiled, wrapping her arm around Maggie’s waist, pulling her closer. “I _am_ a genius. Guess that’s why I picked you.”

“Mm, one of your better decisions for sure.”

Alex laughed softly, leaning in for a gentle kiss. She let her eyes drift closed as the kiss deepened slowly. Pulling away after several long minutes, Alex grinned at the happy expression on Maggie’s face, the other woman’s eyes still closed. “You look happy.”

“Mm yeah well, you’re pretty good at that.”

“Mm, so are you.” Alex pressed a kiss to Maggie’s forehead, the slightly higher heel on her boots as compared to Maggie’s giving her a touch more of a height advantage than normal.

They startled as the door opened abruptly, spinning for the door and both reaching for guns. One of Alex’s men, Donovan, stood framed in the door, eyes wide as he stared at the two women with weapons drawn on him. Alex growled as she lowered her gun and tucked it back in her waistband. Lightly, she rested a hand on Maggie’s forearm. “It’s just Donovan. You don’t have to shoot him. _Yet._ ” She glowered at him. “Care to explain?”

“Uh, yes, I—”

“Spit it out, Donovan before I let Sawyer here have a little target practice. What’s with the interrupting?”

He swallowed, nervous gaze darting to Maggie then back to Alex. “Vasquez told me to let you know the leak has been prepared.”

“And the reason you didn’t knock?”

“Uh, I thought—I thought you were alone.”

“Oh yes, brilliant reasoning. Definitely would have made entering my office uninvited better,” Alex snarled sarcastically. “Get your ass back to Vasquez. Tell her you delivered your message and that you barged in. She’ll determine your punishment.” He gulped and nodded frantically. He had turned to leave when Alex spoke again. “Oh, and Donovan?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Next time you barge into my office without knocking or a _damn_ good reason, I will shoot you.”

“Ye-yes, ma’am.” He scurried away, nearly slamming the door behind him but catching it in time.

Once they were alone, Alex turned back to Maggie, raising one eyebrow in amusement at the look on Maggie’s face. Smirking, Alex moved closer, crowding Maggie slightly so the other woman was forced to look up or step back. She looked up and Alex’s smirk deepened at the heated look Maggie was giving her. “I take it you enjoyed that.”

Maggie smirked in return before abruptly surging forward for a passionate kiss, one hand tangling in Alex’s hair and the other grabbing the lapel of her jacket to hold her close. Alex grinned into the kiss and pulled Maggie backwards toward the couch tucked in the corner of her office, satisfied they wouldn’t be interrupted again.

* * *

 

Maggie watched the video feed intently, hyper aware of Alex’s tense form next to her. Absently, she reached out and rested a hand on the other woman’s hip, rubbing her thumb back and forth soothingly, though her gaze never left the monitor. She felt Alex briefly tense even more then relax slightly. Maggie murmured, “Relax, Danvers. It’s a good plan.”

Alex huffed. “That doesn’t mean it won’t go wrong.”

“True. But we’ve done everything we can to avoid that. All we can do is let it play out.”

She caught Alex’s sidelong glance. “Why are you so calm?”

Maggie grinned, looking over at her. “I’m not. You’re just wound so tight _everyone_ looks calm in comparison.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “I’m not that bad.”

“Mm you kinda are.”

“Oh yeah? You going to help change that?” Alex’s voice dropped to a heated murmur, just barely audible to Maggie.

Maggie flicked her a sidelong look. “Maybe later. Preferably without the audience.” Maggie looked around pointedly at the people waiting with them. Fortunately, no one was close enough to hear their conversation. No one human that is. Maggie caught a long-suffering look on J’onn’s face and a smug one on Kara’s. As she met the gaze of Alex’s sister, the Kryptonian winked with a smirk before looking away again. Maggie chuckled softly to herself.

Alex frowned slightly. “What’s so funny?” She looked at the screen as if expecting something humorous to appear. Lord falling on his face perhaps.

Maggie grinned a little and bumped her shoulder into Alex’s. “Your sister.”

Alex groaned and looked over at Kara who looked back with another smirk. “She’s the worst,” Alex muttered.

“You make me glad I’m the oldest.”

Alex grunted in irritation. Maggie chuckled and bumped her shoulder again. Alex gave her a stern look, ruined by the amusement in her eyes and faintest quirk to her lips. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Maggie was about to respond but cut herself off when she saw movement on the screen from the outside camera. Quickly she elbowed Alex and nodded toward the monitor, both of them falling silent as they leaned forward to watch.

So far the plan had gone without a hitch. Vasquez had set up a communication to Lord that appeared to come from a known mercenary group whose specialty was knocking over transports and then reselling the goods on the black market. She had also managed to fabricate, with Winn’s help, what appeared to be internal El Mayarah and DEO communications regarding the “lost” shipment. It seemed to have worked. Lord had agreed to purchase the shipment of technology but, as expected and hoped for, stipulated an inspection of the goods prior to payment. The warehouse that had been negotiated for the transaction was outside city limits and thus outside either Alex or Maggie’s territory, hopefully contributing to Lord’s confidence.

They’d agreed to send people ahead, J’onn and one of Maggie’s associates, another shapeshifter, to plant the cameras in the warehouse while disguised as members of the mercenary group. Several members of both gangs now milled about the warehouse, dressed in the colors the mercs were known for and pretending to provide security. A small caravan of cars had just pulled up outside the warehouse, the movement Maggie had seen on the monitors.

Alex raised a hand and waved to J’onn and Kara who were at her side almost immediately. Maggie met James’ eyes as he followed, taking up position on Maggie’s opposite shoulder. Alex gestured at the screen and murmured, “Looks like Lord is here.”

Everyone watched in tense silence as several of Lord’s goons exited the vehicles and swept the area. The “mercenaries” guarding the door waited and watched but made no move to intercept. A few words were exchanged between the “mercs” and one of Lord’s men before, finally, Lord himself exited the central vehicle. Maggie heard Alex let out a slow breath and glanced over, smiling internally at the intent look on Alex’s face. Though her expression was mostly impassive, Maggie could see the dangerous glint in her eyes and the way her lips tensed just slightly as her gaze flickered across the screen, clearly taking in all the details she could.

Pushing away the thoughts of how attractive the expression made Alex, Maggie turned back to the screen. She watched as Lord looked around and could feel the tension in the group ratchet up. This was the moment of truth. Either he would buy the ruse and enter the warehouse. Or he would flee. After far too long, he began to move toward the warehouse, arrogant sneer on his face.

The tension partially subsided as he moved forward but Maggie knew none of them would truly relax until this was over. She felt herself tense as he stopped abruptly, apparently exchanging words with one of the guards outside the warehouse. She wondered if they were close enough, and if there were enough men outside or near enough to the door, to take Lord out should he suddenly back out. She exchanged a look with Alex and knew the other woman was thinking the same.

“Kara, J’onn, get over there and be ready to grab him if he suddenly splits.”

Both aliens nodded and immediately hurried out of the room they were waiting in, black clothing blending in with the night as they exited.

“You think he’s going to run?” James asked. Maggie could hear the tension in James’ voice. While Winn had adapted easily to working with the DEO, and in fact was basically ecstatic to work with Vasquez, James was still wary of their intentions. Maggie couldn’t really blame him and he was, at least, still being respectful and professional. She hoped he would come around soon but had to admit, Alex pointing a gun at her head really hadn’t helped matters, even if Maggie herself was already over it. After all, she would’ve done the same in Alex’s position.

Shaking the thoughts away, she refocused on the situation at hand as Alex answered James’ question quietly. “I don’t think so, no. He’s arrogant enough to think he has the upper hand even if he is suspicious. Works in our favor.”

James nodded in agreement and Maggie caught a brief look of appreciation on his face for the way Alex had answered his question, treating him as if he had every right to ask and be answered by her rather than ignoring him.

True to Alex’s word, Lord began moving forward again, his bodyguards flanking him and another pair in front. Maggie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as he and his entourage entered the warehouse. She reached out and tapped the key that would flip the feed from outside to inside. It didn’t take long for Lord to realize he’d been duped but by then it was too late. Maggie watched with a smirk as he and his men tried to flee only to find the door they’d entered through barred and “mercs” blocking the exit.

She found herself watching Alex more than the firefight itself, as an evil smirk curled her… girlfriend’s? lips. Maggie licked her lips and reminded herself that now was really not the time to jump Alex, no matter how sexy the evil chuckle the other woman let out was. Tearing her gaze away from Alex before she ignored her own common sense, Maggie watched as Lord’s men were gunned down one by one. A few of their own people fell also but Maggie hoped they were just wounded. She couldn’t tell from the video feed whether any of them were dead.

Finally, it was just Lord standing, surrounded. Alex straightened and shot Maggie and James a smug grin. “Well, shall we wrap this up?” She held out a hand to Maggie, much like the night at the gala when asking her to dance.

Maggie returned the grin with one of her own and placed her hand lightly into Alex’s. “We shall.” She caught sight of James rolling his eyes good-naturedly at them and flashed him a smile. Allowing Alex to interlace their fingers, Maggie strolled next to her as they exited the building for the waiting car that would take them over to the warehouse.

Maggie and Alex settled into the back seat, with James in the passenger seat. Alex glanced up at James then leaned over, murmuring directly into Maggie’s ear, “It’s a shame we have company. There’s a lot I’d like to do with you in the backseat of a car.”

Maggie shivered and gave Alex a heated look. Reaching over with her free hand, she tilted Alex’s chin just slightly to capture her lips in an intent kiss, ignoring James and the driver’s presence in favor of letting her tongue tangle with Alex’s. She felt Alex smile briefly against her lips, Alex’s other hand moving to cup Maggie’s elbow gently before trailing up to her shoulder. They broke apart at James’ loud cough from the front seat, grinning at each other.

“There a problem, James?” Maggie asked, hearing the slight roughness in her own voice. She kept looking at Alex, entranced by the way the other woman’s eyes seemed to sparkle and dance in the light from the passing streetlights.

“No, uh… no problem. We’re,” he cleared his throat, “uh we’re almost there.”

Tearing her gaze away from Alex, Maggie smiled brightly toward the front of the car. “Great! Thanks for the heads up.”

She was positive she heard him grumble to himself but ignored it in favor of turning back to Alex. Alex’s happy smile had morphed into a far more dangerous one during the brief exchange and Maggie almost, _almost_ felt bad for Maxwell Lord. She leaned in and murmured in Alex’s ear, “You have _got_ to stop making that expression when we’re not alone.”

Alex turned the look on Maggie. “Do I?”

Maggie chuckled, squeezing Alex’s hand and placing another quick kiss on her lips, smirking when she heard the faint sound of protest as she pulled away. “Unless you have an exhibitionist streak you have yet to mention, yes.”

Alex arched an eyebrow. “Says the woman who just made out with me in the back of a car with two of our own employees in the front seat and no divider.”

Maggie shrugged lightly. “Technicalities.”

Alex laughed. “Sure.” Both women looked forward as the car slowed to a stop. “Shall we?” The evil smirk was back and Maggie swallowed and nodded.

“Let’s.”

Alex dropped her hand and slid out of the car first, turning and holding her hand out for Maggie to exit. Maggie smiled a little, charmed, as Alex helped her out of the car. Alex grinned a little at her before the impassive mask settled in place once more. Dropping their hands, Maggie stepped up next to Alex and gave her a brief nod, allowing her own expression to settle into neutrality. Side by side they strode into the warehouse and toward Lord. Kara and J’onn fell in behind them as they walked.

Lord turned to face them as the door opened, his sneer still in place though Maggie could detect the slight hint of fear in his eyes. He was not used to not having the upper hand and it showed. Meeting Alex’s glance briefly, she turned back to Lord, the pair splitting to circle him from either side as if rehearsed. He scowled, clearly unsure of who he should follow and ended up spinning in place to face them when they met again behind him. Maggie smirked and saw Alex doing the same out of the corner of her eye.

Alex spoke first. “I wish I could say it was good to see you again, Maxy but… it’s really not.”

Maggie heard a few snickers at the nickname and smirked. Max grew angry. Maggie picked up the thread, and the nickname. “You know, Maxy, this could have been avoided if you’d been smart enough to back off.”

He snarled. “Back off and let you two ruin everything? Not likely.”

Alex laughed. “Jealousy really doesn’t become you. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised you’re taking the easy route. Always were an underachiever.”

He was glowering now but didn’t speak.

“Is there a particular reason we _shouldn’t_ kill you?” Maggie asked, as casual as if talking about the weather.

“I have done nothing to you, Sawyer. Why are you even working with this bitch?”

Maggie shrugged and glanced at Alex who met her eyes and raised her eyebrows in an exaggerated questioning motion. Maggie snickered briefly before turning her gaze back to Max. “Would you rather I was working with you?” He didn’t reply but the flash in his eyes gave away the answer. She laughed. “Why would I work with a cheap knock-off when I can work with the best? Face it, you’ve lost, Lord. Your plan to eliminate the competition failed.”

Alex smirked. “I note none of that was a reason we shouldn’t kill you. Would you care to try again?”

“I can help you.”

“With what? My technology is far superior to yours, on all fronts.”

“I have plans, blueprints to improve the technology in the shipment that was arriving today.”

Alex cocked her head. “As do I. And I’ll have yours soon enough after you’re out of the picture. Time’s running out, Max.”

“I can help you take out Cadmus.”

That comment caused both Alex and Maggie to pause and exchange quick glances. If he was telling the truth, that _would_ be very beneficial. Cadmus had stepped up its attacks on both Alex and Maggie’s people as well as the businesses in their territories since the attack on Lane, clearly feeling threatened by the shifting power balance. Information that would help them take Lillian and her lieutenants out swiftly would be useful.

Slowly, Alex answered. “Really? How, exactly?”

Max smirked, confidence returning. He clearly thought he had them now. “I won’t tell you until you promise not to kill me.”

Alex looked over at J’onn who smiled in return. “Got it” was all J’onn said. Alex looked back at Max, evil smirk returning full force. “Fortunately for me, I have a telepath as a father. Unfortunately for you, you’re out of usefulness.” Max gaped at her as she turned to Maggie. “Would you like to do the honors, dear?”

Maggie arched an eyebrow at the term of endearment and Alex’s smirk deepened. “Sure, _honey_.” Maggie drew her gun and pointed it at Max.

“What the hell?” he shouted.

Maggie smirked and pulled the trigger as he lunged toward her. He jerked and fell to the ground. She gazed down at him dispassionately before firing once more and holstering the weapon. Maggie turned back to Alex, ignoring the body on the ground. “We good?”

Alex glanced at J’onn who nodded. “We’re good. J’onn was able to pull the information from his mind. Made even easier by asking him about it. Just because he wouldn’t say it doesn’t mean he wasn’t thinking it.”

“Great. I guess we’re done here.”

“We are.” Alex waved over Vasquez. “Make sure this looks like it should.” Vasquez nodded, already turning away and summoning other members of the DEO.

Maggie looked over at James. “Coordinate with J’onn to get the information he pulled documented and start working on a plan of attack. Once word of Lord’s demise gets out, Lillian is going to be increasingly desperate. We’ll need to get out in front of that if possible.” James nodded and immediately moved toward J’onn. Maggie turned back to Alex. “I need to get back to my headquarters and start going through the information Winn should already be pulling from Lord’s systems.”

Alex nodded. “I need to verify that the shipment is intact and get everything scrubbed before someone else finds our convenient leak and tries.”

Maggie flashed a quick smile. “Sounds good, Danvers. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

Alex returned the smile and, after a glance around to ensure no one was paying attention to them, leaned in for a quick kiss. “Definitely.”

Maggie patted the other woman’s side discreetly, smile softening for a moment. “Try to get some sleep?”

Alex scoffed. “Only if you promise to do the same.”

Maggie laughed and nodded in acknowledgment. “Fair. See you in the morning.” Another quick pat and Maggie turned for the door. She could feel Alex’s gaze on her ass as she walked and shot a flirtatious look over her shoulder before leaving. Alex didn’t even look ashamed, just winking at Maggie before turning to her men to do what she needed to. Chuckling to herself, Maggie left, several of her members falling in beside her to act as bodyguards.


	7. Chapter 7

Alex paced the length of her home office, lost in thought about the intel J’onn had extracted from Lord’s mind. It was almost frightening just how close to an alliance they had been. Of course, it was a moot point now that Cadmus had joined the fray anyway out of fear. The attacks on Alex and Maggie’s territories had been steadily stepping up in frequency and viciousness, particularly targeted at the various aliens that lived in each zone. This had forced both of them to step up enforcer patrols and protection, which was already putting a slight, but steady, drain on resources.

On the other side, with Lord out of the way, his lieutenants had devolved to infighting and pulled back from any incursions toward either Maggie or Alex. Though they were keeping an eye on the territory, the need to get it under control was on the backburner for now. Maggie had suggested letting them fight it out amongst themselves and sweeping in after the dust cleared and the victor, or victors, were weakened by the infighting. It was a sound plan and Alex had readily agreed.

Maggie. Alex smiled to herself a little as her thoughts drifted to the other woman. She had to admit, when this had all started she hadn’t really expected to get a relationship out of it all. Much less with someone she had considered, at best, an adversary just weeks before. Yet, here they were. They hadn’t really talked about it yet but Alex was fairly certain Maggie felt the same. When this shit was over, she fully intended to sit down with the other woman and ensure they were on the same page. Alex couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like this about someone that wasn’t her family and she’d be damned if she lost it without trying.

Without really thinking about it, she tugged out her phone to pull up their text stream. She grinned a little at the most recent messages, a playful back and forth about some game that Vasquez had apparently gotten Winn hooked on which meant Winn had been yelling at the top of his lungs at two am the night before, waking Maggie up. He’d been contrite but Alex had several messages indicating that her girlfriend—lover?—was still less than amused. Grin broadening, Alex swiftly switched to another app and typed out a quick set of orders. Smiling smugly, she tucked the phone away and resumed pacing.

Forcing her thoughts away from Maggie, she continued to examine the problem presented by Cadmus. According to Lord’s mind, Lillian was in even worse straits than they had thought regarding funding. Which was part of why she’d initially been reluctant to team up. However, her headquarters was deep inside her territory and well guarded. The little information Lord had been able to add regarding her tech and force levels had confirmed what Alex suspected. Though not quite to the level of the DEO, it was damn close. Everyone knew Lillian’s penchant for extracting information by torture and dissection, levels to which even Alex who arguably exploited alien knowledge for profit, would not stoop to. And the funding she’d had while able to skim from L-Corp had unfortunately allowed her to produce the developed weaponry and technology in large quantities.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, jolting her from her thoughts. She pulled it out, unlocking it and smiling at the text message from Maggie.

_Thanks for the coffee, babe. I just scared Winn by smiling for the first time today._

Alex laughed a little as she typed her response. _Anything to make you smile. But scaring Winn is a nice bonus._

She looked up and dropped the phone on her desk at a knock on the door that was almost immediately followed by J’onn and Vasquez’s entrance. “Anything?”

J’onn nodded. “We might have something, yes.” He moved to the desk, tapping the screen of the tablet he carried. Alex moved to his side, peering down at the screen curiously. “As you’re aware, a frontal assault like we did with Lane is pretty much out of the question. Likewise, luring Lillian into a trap probably won’t work either.”

Alex nodded. Lillian needed funds, not pure technology.

Vasquez picked up the conversation. “With the access to Lord’s phone, Winn and I were able to piggyback on the signal to the contact Lord had made in Cadmus. They had also given Lord a decryption key in order to communicate. Now, this key isn’t good for the higher level encryption, but it did give us a starting place to tunnel into their systems.”

Alex looked at Vasquez sharply. “Are you saying you were able to hack Cadmus’ systems?”

“Not entirely. We were able to access some of their lower level systems. Much like ours, Cadmus’ computer systems operate with a tiered encryption, protecting various levels of data. We were able to piggyback and tunnel into some of the lower tiers. Winn is still working on cracking into the higher tiers.”

“So what does that give us?”

“Honestly? At first we thought nothing. But then we found this.” She waved at the tablet.

Alex looked down studying the document showing thoughtfully. At first glance it was an innocuous email, one that didn’t really indicate much of anything. Suddenly she frowned. “Is this saying what I think it’s saying?”

“If you think it’s saying that there is an expected delivery to one of the prime Cadmus warehouses in two nights’ time then yes,” J’onn replied

“There’s no way Lillian allows information like this to flow at a lower tier of encryption. Even in a coded message like this one. What makes you think it’s not a trap?”

Vasquez nodded. “That’s what we thought at first. But then Winn determined that this message shouldn’t even exist. It was actually rescinded almost immediately after being sent and the data scrubbed.”

“Then how the hell did you find it?”

“Automatic backups. Whoever scrubbed the data, forgot that the system is set to automatically backup messages and didn’t scrub the backup copy.”

Alex stared in shock. “You’re joking.”

Vasquez shrugged. “People have been caught for less egregious mistakes.”

Alex laughed disbelievingly. “Great. Do we have the route? Any information on security?”

“Some. Rather than try to go through Cadmus’ systems and potentially alert them, Winn and I opted to try searching the systems of known suppliers. And, well, we found a match.”

Alex frowned at the odd tone in Vasquez’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

Vasquez took a deep breath then looked at J’onn. Alex’s frown deepened as she did the same. “J’onn?”

J’onn’s expression was as serious as Alex had ever seen it. “It’s a trafficker.”

“As in human trafficking,” Alex stated flatly.

J’onn shook his head. “Aliens.”

Alex’s jaw flexed. “All the more reason to take it, and Cadmus, down then.” She ignored the slightly curious look on Vasquez’s face. Alex and the DEO had never stood for any sort of trafficking, human or alien, but it was also rare that she showed quite so much emotion about it. “How far outside the city can we catch the transport?”

Vasquez tapped the tablet and pulled up a map. “Based on the planned route, there’s a good stretch of road to the east that should be mostly abandoned. It’s about twenty miles out.”

Alex nodded. “Should be far enough to avoid tipping off Cadmus. I’ll talk to Kara and Maggie. I imagine they will both want to be involved. J’onn, start collecting the best people for this, preferably some of our more obviously pro-alien ilk. Vasquez, work with Winn to pull every scrap of data you can. If you can get into the Cadmus systems without being caught, do it. But don’t. Get. Caught. We aren’t likely to get many, if any, more chances to do this.”

They both nodded and filed out. Alex sighed and dropped into her chair. She wasn’t sure if she felt more angry at what Cadmus was doing or relieved that they would hopefully be putting a stop to it permanently. Letting out another, quieter sigh, she picked up her phone to call Kara and Maggie.

* * *

 

Alex grumbled to herself as they waited in the back of the van tucked out of sight of the road. She had expected to be waiting with Maggie, possibly Kara and J’onn. She had _not_ anticipated the addition of Lucy. The other two were bad enough, limiting just how much flirting she and Maggie could get away with before either the smirks or exasperated looks became too much. With Lucy around, that amount dropped even further and so far Alex had contented herself with quick touches and heated looks. And Lucy’s knowing glances the whole time.

They had been waiting since well before the truck was scheduled to arrive, concealed just off the highway. James, Winn, and Vasquez were in another nearby van and the best fighters from both the DEO and Sawyer were scattered through the darkness. The plan was simple: when they had reports that the truck was near, Alex would exit the van and shoot the engine with a localized EMP; after taking out the men traveling with the “cargo,” the aliens would be freed and Alex, Maggie, and company would take over the truck, J’onn impersonating the driver; then they would simply drive the truck into the Cadmus facility and, hopefully, confront Lillian who reportedly inspected each shipment of aliens personally.

Alex watched the clock tick over to thirty minutes before the truck was due. She met Kara’s gaze and nodded once. With a grim smile, Kara swiftly kissed Lucy and slipped out the back of the van. Her black jumpsuit blending into the darkness almost immediately, only her blonde hair still giving her away. In a flash she’d leapt into the sky and vanished.

Maggie murmured, “You’re sure she won’t be seen?”

Alex shook her head. “She knows what she’s doing.”

Maggie nodded and lapsed back into silence. Alex smiled at her slightly, and deliberately brushed the back of her hand against Maggie’s. “Trust me.”

“I do. I just didn’t really have ‘take over National City’ penciled into my calendar for this month, you know?”

Alex laughed softly and knocked their shoulders together, using the movement to tangle their fingers. “Yeah, me neither.”

“Aww aren’t you two adorable.”

Alex turned her head to glare at Lucy. It had no effect, however; Lucy just grinned and batted her eyelashes at Alex. Alex rolled her eyes. “Why are you even here, Lucy? You never said why you insisted on coming.”

“And let the rest of the family have all the fun?”

Alex rolled her eyes again. “If you get shot, I’m going to say ‘I told you so.’”

Lucy shrugged. “I expect nothing less. Besides, I have a vested interest in making sure National City is safe for aliens if you’ll recall.”

“Of course I know that. That doesn’t explain why you felt the need to join us. We can take care of ourselves and you know we’ll take care of each other.”

Lucy nodded slightly. “I know. But someone has to make sure you don’t do something silly, little sister. Kara and J’onn can take care of themselves.”

Alex groaned and dropped her head back against the side of the van. “If anyone in this family is inclined to do something silly, it’s Ms. Bulletproof out there and you know it.”

“Perhaps.” Lucy shrugged but Alex saw her shoot a wink at Maggie.

“I can see you, you know.”

Lucy smiled innocently before turning back to J’onn. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Alex.”

Alex smiled fondly, reveling for a moment in the warm feeling of having Lucy accept Maggie into the teasing so easily. Even if it was at Alex’s expense. It was one of the surefire signs that Lucy approved and hadn’t happened since one of Alex’s girlfriends in undergrad.

She was jolted out of the moment of fond reflection by a sudden sound. “That’s the signal for the EMP.”

J’onn nodded and leapt from the van. “Let’s go.”

Alex and Maggie were already in motion and Alex half turned while Maggie exited. “Lucy. Stay here until it’s safe.”

“I—”

“I mean it.” Alex snapped, right then all mob boss and not little sister. Lucy subsided with a nod. “Thank you.” Alex nodded slightly, grabbing the EMP gun and jumping out. She slammed the van door behind her before breaking into a sprint toward the road. Reaching the edge of the road, Alex dropped into cover in some underbrush, exchanging a quick nod with J’onn and Maggie who were hidden nearby.

Her eyes scanned the road as she waited for the truck to appear. It was only minutes before headlights lit up the world and Alex rose, smoothly raising the gun and firing. The sound of the engine died as soon as the blue flash hit it and Alex watched impassively as the truck began to skid. Kara was already in place, stabilizing the vehicle from one side while J’onn transformed and took the other. Once the truck was stopped, Alex started jogging for the truck, Maggie on her heels.

She caught up in time to see Kara yanking a guard out of the trailer. Alex snickered at the wild-eyed look on the man’s face as he went flying through the air. The fight, if it could even be called that, was over in seconds. Alex ignored the bodies in favor of hopping into the trailer and studying the aliens held there. Her jaw clenched as she took in the chains.

Dimly, she was aware of Maggie hopping up next to her. A sharply inhaled breath grabbed her attention and she looked over at Maggie who looked murderous. Resting a hand comfortingly on Maggie’s back, Alex turned to Kara. “Kara, can you get rid of these chains, please?”

“Definitely,” her sister replied, nearly growling the word.

While Kara went down the line, snapping manacles like they were tissue paper, Alex leaned into Maggie, whispering, “You ok?”

Maggie took a deep breath and nodded, leaning into Alex briefly. “Yeah. I’d kind of made myself forget what this looked like since the last time we stopped one.”

Alex nodded. “I know my group is not the most pro-alien thing out there but, I promise you, this… this was never something we were party to.”

Maggie looked up at her with a tiny smile. “I know. But I appreciate you saying it.”

Alex returned the smile and turned her attention to the aliens that were slowly making their way out of the trailer. She left her hand on Maggie’s back even as they both greeted each alien leaving the truck and deflected thanks. Finally, the trailer was empty and Alex and Maggie’s men were clambering aboard. The vans that had been used to transport them out of the city were going to be used to transport the aliens into the safe areas of National City so they would be able to either settle down or depart for somewhere else.

Alex was just about to swing the doors shut when Lucy swung herself inside. “Lucy, what the hell?”

“I’m coming with you,” she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“The hell you are. Kara!”

In moments, Kara was at her side. “Yeah, Ale—Lucy?”

“Yes. Lucy. Tell your wife she’s staying behind.”

“I—” Lucy arched an eyebrow at Kara. Kara sighed, grabbed her hand and pulled her farther into the trailer.

“What?!” Alex glared after them in outrage. “Damn it, Kara!” She felt a hand on her arm and whipped around before relaxing upon recognizing Maggie. Maggie arched an eyebrow and Alex sighed, slumping briefly. “This is going to make things so much more complicated.”

“We’ll figure it out. Kara can contain her.”

Alex arched an eyebrow, shooting Maggie a disbelieving look. “Yeah, you don’t know Lucy. Trust me, she’s trouble.”

Maggie laughed. “Must run in the family then.”

“I am not _nearly_ so bad.” Maggie merely raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m not!”

“Sure, babe.” Maggie grinned briefly then her expression dropped back into seriousness. “Are we ready to go?”

Alex looked over at Kara. “Kar, we ready?”

Kara glanced up from her conversation with Lucy and listened briefly. She nodded. “J’onn just got into the driver’s seat. We should be heading out momentarily.”

Alex nodded and raised her voice slightly. “Everyone hang on; we’re about to move.” She had only just finished talking when the engine roared to life and the rumbling filled the trailer. Alex immediately grabbed a seat on one of the benches that the prisoners had been attached to, Maggie dropping into place next to her. The noise inside the trailer was too loud to really have a conversation but Alex carefully let her hand drop between hers and Maggie’s leg and smiled slightly to herself when Maggie immediately interlaced their fingers. They remained silent for the rest of the trip, shoulders leaning against each other lightly.

When she felt the truck slowing, Alex tensed and drew her gun, ready to leap to her feet as soon as the truck stopped. She saw Maggie do the same and met Kara’s gaze across the width of the trailer. Fortunately, Kara was between Lucy and the door and Alex sincerely hoped it stayed that way. As soon as the motion stopped, Alex was on her feet, Maggie and Kara flanking her. She heard the rapid scuffle of sound behind her that indicated the rest of the group was standing and ready. Alex leveled her gun at the door and waited for the door to open, vicious smirk curling her lips.

“They’re moving for the door,” Kara stated quietly.

“Where are J’onn and James?”

Kara was silent for a second before replying calmly, “Still near the front of the truck.”

“Good.” Alex’s gun was firing before the door swung completely open, taking down the two men preparing to enter the trailer immediately. Then Kara was moving, super-speed turning her into a black and blonde blur as she swept out of the trailer. Alex and Maggie vaulted down side by side, guns sweeping the area and finding targets. For several seconds, the Cadmus troops stood frozen. A full third had been gunned down by the fighters pouring out of the trailer before they managed to return fire.

Alex rolled to one side, coming up behind a stack of cargo and hoping nothing in it was flammable or explosive. She leaned around the side, firing at a Cadmus lackey that had been trying to sneak around the front of the truck. She could just make out Kara zipping around taking out enemies left and right. J’onn wasn’t far behind, having morphed into his natural form in order to help out. An open firefight in a warehouse was never an ideal situation and anything that ended it quickly was for the best.

She looked around for Maggie next and spotted her using another pallet of cargo as cover. From the distance, she looked unhurt and Alex nodded slightly to herself in relief before returning her attention to the dwindling firefight. Calmly, she reloaded and continued firing taking out two more lackeys before the fight abruptly ended. Alex blinked at the sudden lack of noise, looking around for the reason. And found it in the form of her sister hovering in the middle of the warehouse, Lillian Luthor in her arms. _That explains that._

Alex straightened and moved out from her position, strolling confidently forward. “I would recommend dropping the weapons… unless you want my sister to drop _her_.”

Most complied, out of the few that were left. Two started to raise their weapons once more and were promptly dropped by James and Vasquez. Alex glanced over at the bodies and smirked, turning her attention back to Lillian. Her words, however, were directed at Vasquez. “Vas, can you get the remaining goons out of here, please, and take care of them?”

Vasquez nodded and with a few nonverbal commands to her usual team, the remaining Cadmus troops were tied up and loaded on the truck swiftly. With a jaunty salute toward Alex, Vasquez pulled herself into the driver’s seat and the truck left the warehouse.

Once the sound had faded away, Kara set Lillian on the ground none-too-gently before stepping back to Alex’s side. Alex smirked at Lillian, gun lowered but still in hand. “Lillian Luthor.”

Lillian sneered. “Doctor Alexandra Danvers.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow. “No need to be so formal. Just Alex will do.”

“Very well, _Alex_. Just what do you hope to accomplish here?”

Alex shrugged eloquently. “Many things really. But as directly relates to you… your death sits at the top of that list.”

“You’re nothing but an abused child. You don’t have the guts.”

“Abused child? Why? Because I was raised in part by aliens? Because my sister is one? My brother? No… the only one abused here is you. By your own delusions.” Alex raised her gun.

“I know what happened to your parents. And hers.” Lillian inclined her head slightly toward Kara.

Alex growled and heard the sound echoed from her sister. She knew what that meant. “Accidents.” More like Cadmus trying to take out the competition. Punishment for daring to leave the organization so many decades before. Her finger twitched on the trigger but she didn’t pull it. Not yet. “So do I. You had them executed. For daring to compete with you.”

Lillian sneered. “They could have been so much more. _Done_ so much more. Even the aliens.”

Alex smiled faintly, gaze flat. “That was the wrong answer. I want you to know, before I kill you, that you lost. The family you tried _so_ hard to wipe out in your delusion is still here and stronger than before. And stronger than _you_. Danvers-El-J’onzz-Lane-Sawyer. So, think about that in the next two seconds.”

She didn’t wait for her words to register with anyone, much less Lillian. She was already pulling the trigger as she finished her final word, Lillian falling to the ground before the sounds of her voice had finished echoing in the warehouse. Alex smiled viciously. “That was for our parents.”

Slowly, she lowered the gun and slipped it back into the holster, studying Lillian’s body for a long moment. She snapped out of her reverie at a light touch on her side, turning and smiling at Maggie. Maggie smiled up at her, not sparing a glance for the body. “You ok?”

“Yeah, fine. Relatively. I just need to talk to Kara.” The name was barely out of her mouth when she was engulfed in a hug that she instantly recognized as her Kryptonian sister’s. Wrapping her arms around Kara in return, Alex squeezed tightly before pulling back a little. Kara shifted so her arms were on Alex’s shoulders. Alex smiled up at her big sister. “You ok?”

Kara let out a short, breathy laugh. “Yeah, I’m fine. You?”

“Yep. Sorry I didn’t let you get any shots in first.”

Kara shrugged. “She got what was coming for her, we know the truth, and our parents are avenged. They would be no less grateful that it was at your hand than mine.”

Alex nodded. “Thank you. Now,” she took a breath and flashed a smirk, “shall we finish this?”

Kara’s answering smirk was devilish. “We shall.” They turned in unison and headed for the door leading to headquarters, Alex drawing her gun as she went. The others fell in behind them, Maggie on Alex’s other side and J’onn on the other side of Kara. Alex hoped Lucy was safely behind them all. Sure, Lucy could be as dangerous as any of them given her own family, but she was also far less experienced with these situations.

Clearing the rest of the Cadmus headquarters took surprisingly little time, the combined forces of the DEO and Sawyer Gang catching them off guard by coming from inside their own building. Methodically, the group slowly split up and cleared each room and hallway, sweeping through the lower floor before moving upward, steadily pushing the remaining Cadmus lackeys higher into the building and further from escape routes. Finally, there was only one room left and they all silently agreed to leave Kara to it. In a flash of super-speed and ricocheting bullets, it was done.

* * *

 

After the last of the lackeys were dealt with and the troops had dispersed to start truly investigating Cadmus’ headquarters, Alex and Maggie found themselves exploring Lillian’s office, perusing the documentation she had kept on Cadmus’ business dealings. After several minutes of silence, Maggie cleared her throat and Alex glanced over at her curiously.

“So… the Danvers-El-J’onzz-Lane-Sawyer Family, huh?” Maggie smirked up at Alex. “Something I should know?”

Alex smirked in return, turning to face her fully. “Hmm… maybe.”

Maggie’s smirk edged into a grin as she hooked her fingers through Alex’s belt loops, tugging the other woman closer. “And just when were you going to tell me you’d decided we were all one big happy family?”

Alex’s smirk deepened as her hands settled firmly on Maggie’s waist. “Oh, you thought I was referring to you?”

“Ass.”

Alex laughed, leaning down slightly to steal a kiss. “You know you love my ass.”

“Hmm… I do. But also not what I meant and you know it.”

Alex allowed the smirk to relax into a full grin. “I suppose I do.” Idly, she raised a hand to brush back a lock of Maggie’s hair. She watched her fingers twist the strands for a moment before meeting Maggie’s gaze again, expression more serious. “You are part of my family. I can’t imagine not having you in my life. I know it’s only been a few weeks but…” Alex trailed off and shrugged helplessly. She wasn’t entirely sure how to put her feelings into words; she just knew it felt right.

Maggie’s teasing grin softened, gaze gentle. “Likewise, Danvers.” She leaned up and kissed Alex gently before pulling back, grin taking on a teasing edge once more. “Though, somehow I don’t think the rest of the family thought your little power play was quite as hot as I did.”

Alex chuckled lowly, running warm hands up and down Maggie’s sides and enjoying the slight hitch in the other woman’s breath as she shifted even closer. “Did you now?” she murmured.

“Well, you know, guns… danger… those really sexy pants you like to wear…”  Maggie trailed her fingertips up Alex’s arms, tangling them in the ends of her lover’s hair.

Alex lowered her head to nip lightly at Maggie’s jawline, enjoying the shiver she felt run through Maggie’s frame. “Have to look appropriately badass when taking over the city after all.”

Maggie laughed, retaliating by pulling Alex closer and biting gently at her throat. “What am I going to do with you, Danvers?”

Alex hummed lightly, wrapping her arms around Maggie and sliding her hands under the back of Maggie’s shirt. “I can think of several things.”

“Is that so? Maybe we should—” Maggie cut herself off at a knock on the door.

Both women turned glares on the doorway as the door opened almost immediately and Winn wandered in, head down and looking at a tablet. “So, I started inventorying some of the items we’re recovering from Cadmus and—” He glanced up and stopped, visibly swallowing. “And… I’m interrupting.”

Alex narrowed her eyes in annoyance,  smirking slightly when she saw Winn’s gaze meet hers then skitter away immediately. She remained silent, however, waiting for Maggie to deal with her interloping brother and associate. Alex automatically rubbed her thumbs soothingly across the warm skin of Maggie’s back when she felt the slight vibration of an annoyed growl.

Maggie glanced at her, lips quirking slightly. She scratched Alex’s neck briefly before turning back to Winn, not bothering to break away from the embrace. “Winn, you and James can handle the inventorying and the computer stuff. Work with J’onn. So, unless the world is literally ending, I don’t want anyone bothering me for at least 48 hours—”

Alex grinned a bit and murmured, just loud enough for Maggie to hear, “Only 48… and here I thought you prided yourself on stamina…”

Maggie flicked a look at Alex and rolled her eyes but continued speaking. “You know what, just don’t bother me until further notice.”

Alex grinned smugly, scratching lightly at Maggie’s back and nudging her hips ever so slightly into her girlfriend’s. She felt her own breath catch slightly as Maggie tugged lightly at her hair and nudged back. Wiping the grin from her face, Alex turned her head again to pin Winn with a glare. “Relay the same message to J’onn. If anyone bothers us…” She raised an eyebrow meaningfully.

Winn nodded rapidly. “Yes. Got it. I will make sure no one bothers you. Um… but what about—”

“No. One.” Maggie reiterated, voice a growl.

“Right. Yes. I will get right on that.” Nodding rapidly, he stumbled back through the door, closing it quickly behind him.

Alex and Maggie both watched the door for a moment before bursting into laughter. Alex dropped her forehead briefly to Maggie’s with a grin. “Now that that’s taken care of… where were we?”

“I believe you had a list of suggestions you were going to make.”


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decided to add a fluffy epilogue because I can. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blame sralinchen for this also. :) Will probably do some one-shots in this 'verse--because it's a fun one to write in--that will be posted separately.

Alex lounged in bed and listened to the soft sounds of Maggie moving around in the kitchen filtering through the apartment. It had been a couple of days since they took out Lillian Luthor and Alex was honestly not entirely sure what happened next. Only weeks ago, everything in the city had been balanced. Maybe not perfectly but in a way that made sense to Alex. A way that fit with the tentative balance of power that had existed in the city off and on for decades. Now, suddenly, the power balance was radically different. And she was sleeping with the one on the other side of the power balance. Not really something anyone had foreseen.

A noise at the door jolted her from her thoughts and she looked over, grinning slowly at the sight of Maggie in one of Alex’s t-shirts and nothing else carrying two coffee mugs.

“You’re awake,” Maggie murmured softly, padding further into the room and setting the coffee mugs on the nightstand.

Alex nodded and reached out a hand to tug the other woman back into the bed. Maggie laughed softly and complied, sliding under the covers and allowing Alex to roll into her side, burying her face in Maggie’s neck for a moment. Alex hummed softly as Maggie ran her hand up Alex’s bare back.

After a moment of silence, Maggie asked quietly, “Everything ok?”

Alex pondered the question, shifting so she was sitting against the headboard. Maggie handed her a coffee mug and she took it automatically, using her other arm to tug Maggie closer. Finally, she spoke slowly, “Just wondering what happens next. This isn’t exactly any sort of situation I think anyone ever foresaw.” She paused then added, with a hint of her normal cockiness, “Tragically, we can’t just stay in bed forever.”

Maggie chuckled, shaking lightly against Alex’s side. “True. We cannot.” She paused thoughtfully, sipping her coffee. “I don’t really know. There’s a lot of work left just to finalize the power shift. At least some of Lillian’s lieutenants are still out there. As are Lord’s.”

Alex nodded. It was going to be quite possibly even more stressful to quell the various upstart groups that were sure to come out of this as it was just taking out Lane, Lord, and Luthor in the first place. Not to mention the sheer logistical nightmare that would be expanding operations into the rest of the city. Or half of the city. Or something. She supposed that was something they needed to figure out. Quietly, she asked, “Just how deep does this alliance go? Is it all business…?”

“What?” She felt Maggie stiffen next to her.

Alex sighed and glanced at the ceiling. “The alliance between our groups. You and me. Just what is it?”

Maggie’s voice was tight and Alex could feel her pulling away. “I suppose if you just want it to be business, we can do that.”

“What?” Alex dropped her head and looked at Maggie who was resolutely staring at the door and sitting stiffly. Groaning, Alex shifted so she could use the hand not holding her coffee to gently coax Maggie to look at her. “That’s not what I want. Ok? But we do have to talk about it.”

Maggie studied her for several seconds, expression impassive. Alex forced herself to meet her gaze steadily, trying not to let the apprehension show. Finally, Maggie relaxed and settled back against Alex’s side. “True. What do you want to happen? Technically, on the business side we’re in this together until the known lieutenants are taken down.”

Alex nodded. “That’s true.” She paused, then took a deep breath. “The business side really wasn’t what I’m concerned about.”

“Right…” Maggie dragged the word out and cocked her head, turning slightly to look at Alex. “What are you trying to get at, Alex?”

Alex took another deep breath then met her gaze solidly. “What about us? Was this just a fun diversion because we were working together?”

Maggie looked wary. “Do you want it to be?”

“No.” The answer was immediate.

“No?” Maggie smiled gently, setting her coffee to the side and moving to straddle Alex’s lap.

Alex laughed softly, leaning over to set her own mug down before resting her hands lightly on Maggie’s hips. “No,” she reiterated. “Not for me.”

Maggie reached up to frame Alex’s face softly, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “Or me.” Her gaze was sincere, brown eyes brimming with warmth.

Alex smiled and returned the kiss with a sweet one of her own, hands flexing absently on Maggie’s hips. “Good. I suppose we should consider this an indefinite arrangement then?”

Maggie laughed. “So romantic, babe. ‘Indefinite arrangement.’ One might think you were a businesswoman or something.”

“Or something,” Alex agreed, grinning. “We’ll have to work out the details of how this is going to work. Just how separate we want to keep things.”

Maggie nodded, leaning in for another kiss. “Later,” she murmured against Alex’s lips. “First, I intend to move us right past that forty-eight hour stamina limitation you were concerned about.”

Alex chuckled, hands already moving up Maggie’s back, sliding the shirt up with them.

* * *

 

_ Six Months Later _

Maggie studied Alex’s profile from her position lounging on the couch in Alex’s office. Alex was currently frowning down at some papers—Maggie wasn’t sure if they were reports for the DEO or El Mayarah, nor did she much care at the moment—and occasionally muttering to herself as she scribbled notes on a separate pad of paper. Maggie found it adorable. She suspected most of their employees would disagree.

It had become a habit over the last six months, this keeping each other company in their offices, particularly after hours when one or the other of them still had some work to finish up. Maggie let her gaze drift from Alex and wander around the office. It hadn’t changed much since the first time she’d been in it during the gang war though now the desktop sported a nice framed picture of the two of them. Maggie knew Alex’s desk at El Mayarah held the same photo. As did her own desk both at SMW and the gang offices. They had debated that off and on for weeks, debating safety concerns. In the end, J’onn and James had pointed out that everyone who was a threat already knew they were together so the picture part was pretty much moot.

Maggie shifted on the couch and grinned a little to herself. She wondered if she could convince Alex to christen it for something like the thirtieth time. She had been keeping track at one point, mostly out of amusement that either of them were willing to have sex in their offices, an event she’d eventually found out used to be as rare for Alex as it was for Maggie herself. Eventually she’d given up on keeping count.

She shifted again and frowned, pulled from her thoughts as her phone beeped. Tugging it out, she skimmed the message from Winn. Ah, the reports on the protection financials. She glanced over at Alex. “Hey, babe?”

Alex grunted questioningly but didn’t look up.

Suppressing a laugh, Maggie asked, “Mind if I print these reports?”

Alex nodded and waved a hand vaguely toward the printer nestled in the corner, narrowly missing hitting her coffee cup that Maggie knew held hours old, cold coffee. “Yeah, sure. It’s wireless.”

Maggie rolled her eyes fondly. She knew it was wireless but it was clear Alex was only half paying attention to who she was talking to much less what she was saying. “Thanks.” A few taps had sent the reports to the printer and Maggie retrieved them before pausing and studying the room thoughtfully. Given it was Alex’s private office there wasn’t actually a work surface she could use.

Maggie’s annoyed sound caused Alex to look up, brow furrowed in concern. “There a problem?”

Maggie half-smiled. “I just realized there’s not actually a place for me to work in here.”

Alex blinked, as if just now realizing Maggie had been the person asking about reports and then looked around her office. “…huh.”

Maggie laughed, dropping the reports on the corner of Alex’s desk and moving around behind her. She settled her hands on Alex’s shoulders, kneading gently. “You’re exhausted, babe. You don’t even know what furniture you own anymore.”

“Yes, I do,” she protested weakly, head lolling slightly as she relaxed under Maggie’s hands.

“Sure you do.” Maggie grinned and placed a quick kiss to the top of Alex’s head. “You know,” her voice was studiously casual, “we could just get a joint office to work out of.”

Alex tipped her head back, resting it against Maggie’s stomach with a grin. “We could.”

“You’d be ok with that?”

Alex shrugged slightly, reaching up to grab one of Maggie’s hands, bringing it to her lips and kissing the back gently. “Sure. It would make it easier to plan and coordinate.”

Maggie arched an eyebrow, grinning wickedly. “Among other things.”

Alex laughed. “That too. I suppose that means we would definitely need to ensure there’s a couch.”

“Oh, you only suppose?” Maggie trailed the hand that wasn’t being held down Alex’s side and tickled her gently, laughing as Alex tried to squirm away with a giggle Maggie knew very few people got to hear from her.

“Ok, ok. Yes, we will definitely need a big comfy couch in this office so that we can christen it properly.”

Maggie grinned and stole a kiss. “That’s what I thought.”

Alex grinned and reached up to drag Maggie’s head back down for a deeper kiss. When they broke apart, she leaned up slightly to kiss Maggie’s nose, an action that had become an adorable habit of hers. “Should we get a guard dog for this office?”

Maggie’s lips curled into a charmed smile. “You wanna get a dog?”

Alex smiled back, tugging Maggie’s hand until she moved between Alex and the desk. Alex tugged again until Maggie took the hint and straddled her lap, laughing down at her. “Yeah, I wanna get a dog. With you.”

“Are we talking big dog or some yappy thing? Because if it’s the latter, I might have to dump you.”

Alex laughed, wrapping her arms around Maggie’s waist. “Oh, well there went that idea.” She grinned and leaned up to nip at Maggie’s chin as Maggie rolled her eyes. “Yes, a big dog. Something we can scare Winn with.”

Maggie kissed her, still laughing. “I feel like I should admonish you for taking so much pleasure in scaring my little brother,” she murmured against Alex’s lips.

Alex just grinned, deepening the kiss briefly. “You know you love it. It’s part of my charm.”

Maggie nodded, rolling her eyes but grinning. “What little charm you have.”

“Hey! I have lots of charm!”

“Yes, dear.”

Alex grumbled briefly but subsided when Maggie kissed her again. As they pulled apart, Alex gave her a soft smile, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind Maggie’s ear. “So… office hunting next week?”

“Sounds good. But in the interim, how about we both leave these reports for later and find a better use for the couch than me sitting on it alone?”

Alex laughed, shifting her hands so they were under Maggie’s thighs, holding her tightly and standing in a fluid motion. “I think that sounds like an excellent idea.” Maggie wrapped her arms and legs around Alex with a grin, ducking her head to start planting kisses down Alex’s neck as she moved them toward the couch.


End file.
